Criminal Intent
by Sir Heroden
Summary: AU; Hazel is revealed to be the illegitimate child of Hades, New York's successful real estate mongrel and criminal mastermind. But with her new-found wealth and status comes a half-brother with a deteriorating mental state, an uncle with something to hide and a duty to find her father's murderer before they strike again.
1. Sullen Silences

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the series PJO or HOO.**

 **AN: Please let me know what you guys think. I haven't written anything in a while, so I would like to know if my writing skills have diminished or not. Any comments and favourites will be greatly appreciated.**

 **I've never attempted an AU story before, so I am equally excited to see how this one will turn out. In this story, the characters are all a bit older, just for logistically reasons- I don't really want to sexualise children or promote illicit activities undertaken by underaged people.**

 **After thinking long and hard about how I can convert elements of the original story to a more realistic real-world scenario, I have incorporated them into the storyline. I hope they amuse and entertain you all.**

 **Happy reading!**

 **-H.**

-o-

As usual, Nico was seated opposite his father in the spacious limousine. The tinted windows kept out the glare, so the entire space was illuminated by LED lights embedded into the ceiling.

It was an unenviable position for Nico personally, but many would have killed to be in conversation-making distance of the infamous Hades, to whom half the New York skyline belonged to. Both land developer and billionaire philanthropist, Hades had it all- wealth, fame and fortune.

Even at eighteen years of age, and therefore a legal adult, Nico didn't have the guts to meet his father's gaze, which was still penetrating despite its owner's rapidly whitening hair ridges and fifty or so years of existence. He would never try to make conversation either. His father's judgement and forced queries about his only child's life were unwelcome intrusions into the comfort and familiar life he had.

Nico had finally finished his senior year and now existed in a limbo between university intermingled with the harsh reality of working life and the breeze that had been his secondary school. Certainly, he didn't think highly of his own skills or intelligence, but it hadn't taken much brains to get through a basic education and graduate with flying colours and no major media scandals to overshadow his adult life. Some of his schoolmates couldn't even do that.

Now that he was free of that trap, he was leaping head first into another.

His father had suggested that he consider a career in business, or perhaps even start some part-time work at the company that they owned fifty-one percent of- another way of saying they owned it completely. But Nico had been reluctant, for not only did he have no interest in a career in business, there was always a nagging doubt that the cruel reality of the working environment that his father seemed to glide through would crush him.

He didn't want to be part of the boardroom deals and sly partnerships that were necessary for upper management. Such cases of bribery, backstabbing and bullying happened more often than not. You did not maintain your position for long without being able to swim through murky waters.

And the waters that his father swam around in was dirty, shark-infested and on which corruption settled like an uncontrollable petroleum leak.

Instead of talking like a child and parent might, Nico settled his gaze on his father's shoes, which were polished until they shone. He could see his own reflection in them, head bizarrely small and long, like someone had stuffed his upper body in a bottle and then pulled him out right after. It made him uncomfortable. Nico tried hard to not make the atmosphere even more awkward than it was, but the silence was growing too long to bear.

"Father…" he hesitated, uncertain of what exactly to say.

Hades looked at him impassively like he was meeting a particularly tricky client. Nico felt his brain clam up in response. The car screeched to a stop abruptly and he felt like his stomach had been left a few metres behind them- bile rose in his throat and he forced it down.

Hades tilted his chin up slightly and sighed softly. "Child, I have told you before to never open your mouth until you are certain that the sounds coming from your mouth are useful."

The car continued on in the pale morning light of another Monday, they had turned off Park Avenue at a busy intersection and were not rushing along 57th Street.

Nico forced back the awful feeling that was making his chest tighten, "Yes, Father. I apologise."

"A man who doesn't speak nonsense has space in his head to listen to others. And the more you listen, the more you'll know." Hades adjusted his cufflinks as he continued on, "The more you know, then the more information you have to protect yourself and hold over others."

"Yes, sir."

Nico looked out of the window and saw that they were flanked with tall, nameless and grey buildings that probably would have housed thousands of workers all trying to get to the top. And here he was, already a step from the top, yet not having used a single bit of effort personally. Life just wasn't fair.

His father had all the answers, and Nico had none. He sighed and straightened out a crease in his pants. He wanted to adjust his tie as well, as it had started to choke him in the tension-filled atmosphere of the car. But then his father would berate him for fidgeting.

 _A man's confidence does not rely on his clothing,_ Hades would say again. _It is about the way he holds himself. Society dictates what is appropriate to wear to certain situations, but a confident man can still stand out from the crowd whilst wearing nothing but rags._

Nico was sick and tired of his father always quietly explaining some self-made philosophy to him as a father does to an infant son still in diapers. And that was the thing that irked him the most- Hades never berated anyone loudly, would never raise a hand against anyone, yet he always got his way.

He did not have his father's skills, he was not going to achieve them anytime soon. But he wanted them so badly without knowing exactly why and it felt like he was being driven insane.

Perhaps it wouldn't have been so bad if his mother and sister were still around. His mother was gone, killed in a gas explosion when they were only toddlers. And then, just a few year ago, his sister Bianca had- _No, don't think about it now_. Nico fought to repress unwanted memories that were threatening to resurface.

His father always got his way. Even now, he was being driven to meet his uncle Poseidon against his will, even though they had not met for many years. Poseidon was the owner of a small shipping company, who in his spare time liked to try his luck fishing in the ocean. His uncle, just like himself, had benefited from the influence of his brother. Yet, he was every bit a foil of Hades as one could imagine.

Whilst Hades was serious, slim and graceful, like a panther stalking prey, Uncle Poseidon was well-built and portly, with a booming laugh and a smile so wide that you'd have thought he won the lottery every day. Despite that, Nico didn't want to meet him. His uncle made him nervous, he wasn't sure what to think of that man- something had always seemed off about him, even though the corners of his eyes were wrinkled with smile lines. No one could remain that happy after all that life threw at them.

He constantly felt that he was standing at crossroads, uncertain of which route to take. Ultimately it most likely won't matter, Nico thought as he turned his attention back to the present- he would walk wherever his father ordered him to.

Suddenly the limousine screeched to a stop. Hades lurched forwards as the unexpected stop and a rare frown appeared on his face.

Nico figured out from the noise that they were near a construction site. The whirring of machinery, possibly cranes was obnoxiously loud. Nico saw the car that housed their security detail veer to a stop behind them.

Charon, his father's driver didn't look back but shrugged apologetically, "Sir, there is an obstruction on the road ahead. A large truck is stalled sideways. Should I look for an alternative route?"

Nico turned his head and caught a glance of what presumably was a petrol transporter in front of them, blocking not only their car but several lines of traffic next to them. He craned his neck to see if he could figure out more about what was happening.

Without warning, there was a sound like a firecracker right beneath his feet. Only louder and more menacing. The consequences were much more disastrous too.

The limousine was flung over and up, several tonnes of metal blown into the air as though it weighed nothing.

Nico didn't have time to think. His seatbelt jerked painfully on his collarbone and his vision swarmed with coloured dots so fast that he couldn't think. If the car hadn't been reinforced with some high-quality steel, it would have been mashed into a pulp along with its occupants from being flung up so high and then dropped.

But the di Angelo's had money and they never shied away from using it when security was concerned. So instead of ending up with a crushed skull, Nico found himself hanging sideways in a mess of semi crumbled metal and glass. His ears were ringing unpleasantly, and he screwed his eyes shut against the waves of nausea that bringing bile up into his throat. Pain streaked across his ribs.

He heard a loud groan and then realised that it was coming from himself. Vision dancing with patches of black, he was only vaguely aware of a stream of hot liquid running into his left eye. His head hurt. Scratch that- everything hurt.

"Gods…" He could feel a burning pressure on his ribs as the seatbelt tightened on it. "Father? Father?! What are you doing-" His breathing ragged and dragging, Nico stopped at the scene that before his eyes.

Hades was crouched uncomfortably into the narrow space of the flipped car, freed of his own seatbelt. His hands worked at his son's, fidgeting and fiddling, moving more swiftly than Nico had ever seen. His father's hair no longer neatly pressed back, and his suit was dusty and torn with glass shards. A line of red run across his hairline.

"Nico," Hades said, as he reached into a hand into a compartment of the car and reappeared with a knife. With a flash of silver and a sharp quick pain, the straps that trapped him were cut. "Listen to me!"

He had never heard his father raised his voice before, Nico thought numbly, as he pressed a hand to his chest. "You cut me. Father! What you are doing?"

Hades wasn't a man fond of physical contact, but now he gripped his son's shoulders, half supporting his rolling head with a shaking arm. His grip was strong, and his voice was desperately high pitched, "Talk to your uncle. Remember, you have to talk to him. Trust him. Him and Thanatos." He patted his son's face, his heavy wedding ring colliding against cheekbone painfully and confusing what might have been a tender moment, "Nico, repeat it back to me. Repeat it back to me!"

"Talk to Uncle Poseidon- I'll remember. I'll remember." Nico struggled to focus, "What happened? How do we get out?"

"Someone's let off a goddamn landmine under us, that's what." Hades pushed at the door now above their head.

Abruptly a harsh light landed on his face- someone had forced open the door above them. "Sir!" It was Charon, their driver. His unclipped grey tie fluttered in the wind. "You have to get out. People are shooting!"

And indeed, they were, for Nico could hear sounds like sharp cannon fire and a loud authoritative voice shouting command. "Protect the principals! Cover fire!" More gunshots. A cry of pain.

Nico was redirected back to the present as his father shook him. There was a wild light in Hades' eyes as he began to hoist his son up, and he swore as his own legs became stuck in the tight space.

"Charon- take his arms. Nico, don't trust anyone! Only my close team. No one else!" Some arms, most likely belonging to Charon, hooked under his arms and pulled him upwards. "Your sister! Someone needs to-"

Nico never got to hear the end of his father's sentence, because at that moment he was wrenched free of the vehicle. The sudden movement jolted his entire body, and a fire spread outward from the left side of his chest. Somehow, Charon pulled him off the sideways car without breaking any more bones and started to transfer him over to the second car behind them.

"Gods, I don't get paid enough for this shit." He muttered.

Charon hesitated in his dragging as Nico cried out in pain, but then resumed. He was dumped into the arms of some awaiting bodyguards, who had emerged and now were taking cover behind their unharmed vehicle. They had their weapons out and were shooting unknown figures in the construction site. Charon dropped him with them like a sack of potatoes and sprinted back to the direction of the wrecked car.

Frank, the youngest guard there, who had started to be personally trained by their head of personal security a few years ago dragged him upright against the vehicle. "Nico! Are you okay?" He held up the barely conscious boy as the latter fought off the darkness that was threatening the overcoming him. They were more like friends than employer and employee, and it concerned him how dazed Nico looked.

Frank ran his hands urgently over Nico's body, getting a groan of pain as he pushed against his ribs. He spoke urgently into his earpiece. On the other hand, Nico struggled to get up. He had to get to his father! How strange it was that the safety of the one man whom that he had had so much distaste for nearly all his life was now so important to him?

"My father! Where is he?" He struggled to get up, nearly dragging Frank on the ground as he clawed onto his arm. Frank struggled and said something about staying still. Finally, unable to persuade him from getting up, the bear like bodyguard slipped an arm under his shoulders and supported him up into a standing position.

But at that moment, an explosion rocked the car that they were hiding behind. A shower of rocks clattered against the metal body, while a blast of hot air whipped hair, sand and the grime of the city road into their faces.

Mustering up courage and strength that he never knew he had, Nico pulled himself up with the car on one side and Frank on the other and stood unsteadily, repressing the urge to scream as it felt like someone was pouring molten lava on his side. Blinking the lazy trail of blood from his forehead out of his eyes, he took in the scene.

The limousine that Charon had taken care to keep clean and waxed almost daily was now the site of some messy metal bonfire. Its windows had all been shattered and the road around it was littered with debris. Rocks, asphalt, glass and goodness what else had been dislodged by the explosion. A badly burned body, most likely from the explosion was lying some metres away, the material of his suit torn and stained, half a grey tie still wound around his neck.

He was still.

Worse, at the car, there was also a figure slumped halfway out of the entrance. His body was bent awkwardly and with the smoke and fire, it was hard to tell who it was. But Nico saw the solid silver band on his father's ring finger and knew.

The realisation that his father was dead came suddenly and painfully. Feeling like the breath had been knocked out of his body, Nico's knees buckled, and he passed out.

-o-

 **Well, that's already one major character dead, and it's only been a single chapter! What a terrible person I am. Never fear though, next chapter, more essential people will be introduced.**

 **For those that are new here, thanks for reading and I hope to hear your thoughts as you go through the story!**

 **For those who have returned- I welcome you back with open arms and the promise of a good twisting and turning storyline.**

 **See you next chapter,**

 **H.**


	2. Fictitious Fathers

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the series PJO or HOO.**

 **AN: This story has been a brainchild of mine for ages, I hope to see it through. Thanks for all those that have supported me and given my ideas feedback. The main idea for this story actually came from a section of my psychology course at university- the part about parent/child relationships. With a lot of the characters in PJO, I can't help but wonder how their parentage/or absence of parentage (for some) will have affected their emotional development.**

 **Anyhow, that's my random babbling done for another chapter.**

 **Please leave a fav or a comment if you like my writing! Thanks.**

 **-H.**

-o-

Ever since Monday, all the national news platforms had been broadcasting the death of Hades di Angelo, a wealthy real estate mongrel who had been attacked whilst cruising in his limousine and then died when a grenade caused the vehicle to explode.

Hazel fully understood why there was such a media storm, especially considering the suspicious circumstances under which the rich bastard died. Well, if you call them suspicious. With people that high up on the social ladder, there were probably heaps of deep dark secrets that could have ruined them. When the family of the dead man claimed that they wished for private investigations, it just confirmed her distain for such people.

So, whilst she understood the intentions of the news, she didn't give a damn. It gave her chills just seeing the pictures of that wrecked car, with fire and plumes of smoke still coming from it. It was a sad way to die, no matter who it was.

Hazel hitched her schoolbag further on her shoulders with a sigh and looked away from the 'educational' morning news programs that the school liked to put on for the show- just in case any council representatives were walking through the corridors. There never were any.

She thought that maybe if the school board actually sat down and considered how they might really help the students, they could come up with something better. Something as simple as providing some breakfast for kids who didn't have parents to cook them meals in the morning could help half the people here. Herself included.

And where would they get that funding? Easy. They can start by selling those televisions.

Education wasn't, and would never been, a big priority in The Bronx. No one really visited this area of New York, and if there weren't tourists around then the government didn't need the allocate money to hide the ugly truth here.

It would be unfair to say that everyone at her school was in circumstances as difficult and complicated as hers, but most here were from low socio-economic backgrounds and lived in squalor. These were kids that often went to bed hungry and too often dropped out before they finished middle school. Not only because they couldn't afford the fees, but often because they didn't see education as some sort of golden key to a better life, as the well-off in society so often claimed.

The kids here didn't want to see news programs about some guy who'd died whilst riding in his limo- not when most of them might never even own a car.

The kids in her class had dead, tired gazes all day. Sure, there were kids that just had a streak of maliciousness. But most of those that didn't do their homework couldn't because their power had long been cut. The kids who were late? They couldn't afford to take public transport. The kids that slept in class? Possibly because they were tired from the night shifts that they had to take to feed their family.

Every semester some faces would disappear and perhaps one unlucky person might transfer in. But the losses were always more than the gains. Sometimes you'd still see a kid who dropped out hanging out near the bins after class, in the dimmed light of twilight, trying to sell some cigarettes.

Sometimes they sold even more sinister things.

More often than not, you'd never see those kids again. Hazel wanted to believe that it wasn't because of drug overdoses, or suicide or some other sinister cause. Maybe they just moved away. Maybe their families decided enough was enough, and just magically pulled some money out of their asses and moved away to some better place.

"Hey."

She turned around. It was Reyna, mouth moving as she chewed gum, as usual, her purple ear piercings spiking out in all different directions.

"Whoa, you scared me."

"Sorry."

Reyna wasn't really the type of person to say much. She liked to chew gum and said that she liked to stay quiet because it helped her think. But Hazel knew better. People at her school almost always had something terrible to hide about their past and she knew better to pry. Not to mention, Reyna was probably her only friend in the entire world, and despite the fact that they'd never even been to each other's houses, their friendships had been going strong ever since Reyna transferred into her class almost four years ago.

For the last few days, Reyna had looked stressed, and she spent a suspicious amount of time talking on her mobile phone. When Hazel had asked, Reyna just gave one of her usual frowns and mumbled something about 'family stuff'.

Hazel felt like there was something that Reyna wasn't telling her from the tone of her voice, but there was a degree of possibility that she was just being paranoid. After all, the one time that she'd tried to ask Reyna what family members she still had in her life, her friend launched into a full-on family tree explanation.

The details went over her head, but the conclusion was that Reyna's family was complicated. She could swear that there was even some incest involved.

They were standing in one of the back hallways where the graduating class had been allocated lockers. Hazel swore under her breath as she realised that whilst her attention was diverted, she missed the second number- now she was going to have to start the whole combination again.

Reyna was pressing buttons on her phone again, her fingers moving at the speed of light on the glowing screen. Reyna was one of the only students in the school that had a smartphone, though it was a 'shitty Chinese knock-off' it was still better than nothing. Over the years, Hazel often wondered how she'd managed to still keep that phone, instead of having it stolen by older kids.

In her short-sleeved shirt, Reyna's arms showed impressive muscles, making Hazel wonder once again why Reyna chose to be friends with her. Her friend was pretty, smart and athletic and could have easily won over the popular kids at the school, and breezed through school as the queen bee.

When she had asked Reyna this same question, though worded differently, many years before in a moment of vulnerability, her friend had simply shrugged and said that popularity would have gotten boring after a while. _I like hanging out with you,_ Reyna's voice replayed in her head, _because you're so real- not like those fakers._

But sometimes Hazel still worried that Reyna was going to walk past her in the corridor and then she'd waddle up to the popular white girl groups and hang out with them. Instead of staying with Hazel, the loser black girl with no other friends.

"Hurry up, Hazel. We should get to class. The first period's Mr Menzies and you know how he'll turn beet red if we're late again."

Reyna's words brought her out of her momentary worrying trance. The other kids around them were also beginning to move, perhaps finally realising their potential lateness. Stirring themselves out of the misery that was their constant companion.

"Yeah, sure. Just let me get my maths book." Hazel had only just shut her locker and hoisted her bag over one shoulder when she heard what sounded like someone pulling party poppers in the distance. Silence descended as people veered their heads towards the sound also. Reyna froze beside her. Hazel cocked her head and waited for the hum of conversation to resume.

But it didn't.

Instead, there was a short shrill scream that cut off abruptly. More shouts and screams followed. Hazel was dimly aware of more banging sounds and suddenly Reyna was at her elbow with a tight grip on her upper arm.

"What's happening?"

"Ditch your bag, we've got to go."

"Where? Are those party poppers?"

Reyna swung her bag off her shoulders as the screams in the corridor grew more numerous. "I wish," she muttered as she fiddled with the zip. People started to run, moving and milling about haphazardly in all directions, getting in each other's way and tangling together like seaweed.

Suddenly, something whistled quite close to her head and Hazel yelped and ducked down out of instinct. Nothing good ever came from things flying near one's head. It struck a locker on the other side of the corridor, making a significant dent. Hazel heard people shout in alarm behind her, and turned to see a boy collapsed onto the ground, clutching his shoulder and groaning.

"Hazel!" Reyna was dragging her up, "Are you ok?

"Oh my gods! Was that a bullet?!"

 _If that was been her head._

"Ahh!" A girl cried out, "Help! Someone call the police!"

There was a shooter, Hazel realised numbly- someone was gunning students down at her own school. The horror that she had witnessed again and again on the news was happening right before her eyes and she had no idea what to do about it. She wasn't sure if there was anything she could do anyways.

While her peers streamed past her, shouting and shoving, she found herself rooted to the spot. She wondered why it was that her legs didn't take her into a nearby classroom for cover, or lead her to make a run for the outside world, and didn't have an answer.

Reyna was tugging on her arm now- maybe she was going to leave her and run if she didn't break out of this trance right now. Hazel blinked the haze of fear-tinged disbelief out of her mind and looked at her friend. Reyna had an expression of alertness and readiness on her face that it almost scared her.

She also had her phone out.

Hazel was about to say that this was no time to be making phone calls, no matter how urgent and important family was, but Reyna was speed dialling and pulling her behind some lockers for cover at the same time.

"Principal is under threat. There are gunmen at the school. We need a vehicle for transport immediately." Reyna calmed said into the phone. There was a voice on the other side, sharp and urgent. Reyna hung up and met Hazel's confused glance.

Why was the principal in danger?

"I will explain everything." She lifted a single finger to signal for silence, "But not now. For now, we've got to get out of here."

A girl ran past them, "They're coming! Hurry up!" Her eyes were wide with panic when Reyna grabbed her shoulders roughly, "What do you want? Let me go!"

"How many of 'them' are there?"

The girl shook her head and struggled in Reyna's grip, "I don't know- maybe five? At least three! Please, let me go!"

Hazel watched as her friend released the poor girl and couldn't help but let her shock show plainly. "What are you doing?" She hissed at Reyna, eyeing the rapidly emptying corridor nervously. Without her noticing, the school fire siren had started to ring. Only it wasn't the normal fire alarm, but a similar one with a longer note.

Lockdown.

That meant that all the classrooms would now be closed to them, regardless of how loudly they knocked, how much they pleaded. The only options would be to go all the way around to the front office, which may still be open for police officers to take charge of the situation-

Suddenly, a massive forced pushed her onto the ground. Sprawled on the ground, Hazel blinked hair out of her eyes and gasped at the scene before her. Reyna, her friend of four years, had just tackled her behind some lockers with an athletic ability that would have made her a force to be reckoned with on the rugby field.

The spot that they were standing at was peppered with bullet holes. "Stay calm," Reyna said. She pulled a handgun out of her school bag.

Wait. What?

Hazel blinked hard. Maybe she was hallucinating. But no. Reyna actually was holding a firearm in her hand. And not only that- she looked like she knew how to use it. She watched as Reyna casually pulled a latch back on the weapon and fired some shots towards the direction where shooters were approaching from. She thought she heard a cry of pain.

"We can go through the bathroom window and get outside. I've got a car waiting for us at the front entrance."

"What?! Why do you have that?"

 _Who was this girl? Had the whole world gone insane?_ Hazel tried to recall a moment in their friendship where Reyna had acted in a way that suggested she was a crazy gun wielding psycho who carried a weapon to school. But she didn't have time. Reyna grabbed her arm and pushed her into the open corridor. "Go! I'll cover you!"

For a moment she hesitated. _Should I even trust her?_ But then adrenaline coursed through her blood. Whatever- whoever Reyna was, she wasn't the people trying to kill them both. She shuffled over the other side of the corridor quickly, trying not to shriek when some bullets flew over her head. It felt like they were very close, and maybe one was going to hit her at any moment. But she just had to trust that Reyna had got it covered.

More shots rang through the building. Glass shattered and fell with twinkling sounds that could have ironically been musical.

She had just pushed open the door of the bathroom when Reyna was behind her. "Come on! Come on!" Reyna shoved the door back on its hinges and pulled Hazel up with the hand that she wasn't holding the gun in.

"You get through the window first."

Hazel wasn't really sure if she was capable of clambering up through a window that was at shoulder height. But Reyna, seeing the hesitation, shoved the gun through her belt and put her hands together. "Come on, I'll give you a leg up. Don't worry, it's completely safe."

 _Completely safe, my ass._

Hazel hoisted herself up onto the window sill, trying to ignore the way that her arms were shaking. When Reyna gave her an extra shove to help her get over the window, she nearly tipped over completely and fell the bushes. While it wasn't a time to be graceful, Hazel collected herself and glanced back to see Reyna vault over the windowsill like she had been practising for years. Which for all Hazel knew, she could have been? If she could wield a gun like it was an extension of her arm, then perhaps she was some kind of secret ninja in training.

But she didn't have much time to ponder that. Reyna gave her a shove and then started to sprint towards the direction of the front gate, "Come on!"

Hazel took off after her friend. Scratch that. She wasn't sure what Reyna was to her anymore.

"Where's the guys that were shooting?" She shouted after the other girl's retreating back. "Did you kill them?"

Reyna didn't even look back. "Now's not the time for talking. Hurry up!"

Hazel wasn't sure what to do. Should she follow her ex-friend the possibly deranged murderer or go back and risk death? Luckily, it seemed that the decision was made for her, for in their rush they had seemingly reached the school gate in no time.

As promised, a large shiny black car was waiting for them. Reyna opened the back door for them both and pushed her inside. Hazel struggled for a moment, but then a stray bullet hit the car relatively close to her hand. Giving a yelp, she clambered into the car with Reyna following close on her heels.

Once inside, the sunglassed driver gave her a respectful nod and slammed on the brakes. The car sped off like the devil himself was on their heels. _Maybe he was._

Hazel fought to control her jumping heart, which was bumping around in her chest so much that it felt like it was going to fall out. "What was that!? Who are you? Stop the car, I don't even know where we're going."

The driver hesitated, but a stern nod from Reyna and he turned away, once again focused on driving. It was weird to see a grown man take orders from a girl in a dusty school uniform, but Hazel was slowly getting used to weird in this out of control world.

Reyna slotted another piece of gum into her mouth and stored the gun away in some compartment. "I want to tell you what's going on. But it's not my story to tell. Just wait."

-o-

 **Well, what is Reyna going to tell Hazel?**

 **I guess we will see next chapter…**


	3. Agreeable Appearances

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the series PJO or HOO.**

 **AN: I have been tidying up the plot of the story and I am now certain that the upcoming twists and turns will please you all. At least, I'm sure the spicy romance scenes in a few chapters will leave you all breathless. If that's not your sort of thing, feel free to skip over those parts. They are not essential to the story. I just thought I would try something a little bit different for the mature audiences who read my work.**

 **Thanks very much to the reviewers and the readers who faved this week!**

 **-H.**

-o-

True to her promise to not explain, Reyna was as silent as the grave on the way there.

As a result, the trip was spent in maddening silence. Their driver kept his sunglasses on and his mouth firmly shut, except once to remind them that there were refreshments in the minifridge under a seat. Hazel had huffed when she was offered a lemonade but now started to regret it as her mouth dried uncomfortably half an hour into their journey. It was such a fancy car, she had no idea why she was in it.

At last, with the crunching and slipping of tyre on gravel, they pulled up outside what appeared to be an old boatshed. It might have been quite a sight when it was first built, all coloured up in mint and pink as if the owner was particularly fond of watermelons. Hazel didn't come to lower Manhattan or the seaside districts past Central Park very often, but she knew they were parked somewhere alongside the bank of the Hudson river.

Years on, patches of paint had been washed away by the weather and what was still clinging on in sad strips was faded and lifeless even as they fluttered in the breeze. The roof also looked to be in desperate need of repair. But Hazel knew that if today's events were anything to go by, appearances could be deceiving. Not to mention there were way too many security cameras installed along the outer wall, all of which gleamed in sharp contrast to the run-down nature of the boatshed.

Normally there was no way that Hazel would get out of a car without at least thanking the driver first, but seeing as how she'd been essentially kidnapped, she was fuming too much to care about manners. Hazel clambered out of the car, stumbling on the loose gravel and slammed the door extra hard to make up for that blunder.

Reyna, who was much more agile and had already gotten out and around the car, raised an eyebrow.

"What?!"

"Nothing." But there was a hint of admiration in her former friend's voice. She turned towards the boatshed entrance, "Follow me."

Hazel wondered if she should. What on earth was going on? Her best friend for years was some kind of super spy, or maybe this was all some elaborate prank and all her schoolmates were going to jump out from the boatshed and mock her. But as water sloshed against the banks of the pier Hazel realised just how deserted this area was. The muted sounds of the bustling city were faint behind her, and it struck her that this was all very real.

"Where are you taking me?"

"There's someone you need to meet," Reyna's voice was muffled by the wind as she threw the explanation behind her. Her casual tone made it seem as if they were simply taking a stroll to the park. After a moment's hesitation, Hazel reluctantly followed.

The boathouse was bigger than it looked from the outside, and much better maintained. A medium sized fishing trawler was squatting on a tall trailer. The boat looked to be well used, but still in good condition. The name read _Crestrider_ was painted in bold black letters, contrasting starkly with the white hull. A net dangled from one of the railings, bits of seaweed forlornly tangled in its gaps.

All around them hung fishing lines and hooks of different colours and sizes, giving Hazel the uncomfortable feeling of being in a butcher's shop. They had come through a side entrance and with the main door closed, the only source of light was a few windows set high up on the walls, almost near the ceiling. Weak sunset rays barely penetrated the gloom and particles of dust twisted and danced before their eyes in the dying light.

A dark shade moved, and Hazel sucked in a fearful breath.

But as her eyes adjusted, she was it was a man seated on a trailer wheel. He stood in a hurry when the two girls approached and patted down his suit anxiously.

"Reyna! They said there was a shooting at school and that you guys would be picked up-" The man's mouth dropped open at the sight of her, "Oh my goodness… is that her?"

Reyna nodded in response, "Hey, Frank. Yep."

Their eyes met, and Hazel scrutinised the guy. Tall. Well built. Asian. Maybe twenty or so? Hazel couldn't help but be amused, for whilst the man in front of her was well muscled, he still had traces of baby fat on his cheeks that jiggled when he talked. It was kind of cute- as if puberty has forgotten his face.

"Hi there," She extended her hand, "My name is Hazel."

Frank moved to shake her hand, but then started in surprise, "I shouldn't. Eh-"

A loud grinding noise saved him. The door of the control room of the trawler was pushed back on its hinges, and a large man clambered out rather clumsily. He leapt the short distance to the ground and wiped the sweat off his brow before turning around to face them.

This was a man who enjoyed the comforts that life had to offer, Hazel decided, glancing at his pot belly and wild beard. But there were smile wrinkles around his eyes and when he opened his arms as if to embrace her, Hazel saw that his fingers were scarred and worn. So not completely useless either.

"Ah, child. We finally meet face to face!" His voice was too warm and pleasant. Suspicion crawled its way through Hazel's mind.

"Who are you? Are you going to hurt me?" She demanded. Reyna frowned while Frank goggled in disbelief. Even the man paused for a moment, startled.

Then he laughed heartily. "No, Hazel. I will not hurt you." His face broke into a smile, "My name is Poseidon."

"Dear child, I'm your uncle."

-o-

Her mother had no siblings, that she knew. Or else why would no one except the old woman next door offer to take her into after her mother passed away? So this was her father's brother. _Or he was some creep pretending to be your uncle,_ her mind whispered.

Hazel realised that her mouth was gaping and hurriedly closed it. "What? Are you crazy? My father abandoned my mother and me years ago. Why would his family contact me now?"

Poseidon winced, "Well, the good news is that I'm perfectly sane. The bad news is that your father is dead. And upon his death, I was instructed to bring together his remaining living children. To carry out his will."

Hazel felt like she had to sit down or stop time and contemplate this new information. Reyna was at her side, supporting her both physically and mentally. Her head spun. Within one hour, she had gone from running for her life with her psycho best friend, to finding out her father was alive all this time and then finding out that he was now dead. What kind of messed up world was this?

She steadied her nerves, noticing that the others were looking at her in concern. She looked up at her uncle and asked bravely, "I can't believe this. How can I? Who was my father- did I ever know him?"

She felt Frank tense up behind her, with a gasped, "She doesn't know?" And then Reyna's shushing. Poseidon broke the news with a loud sigh that only increased the amount of anticipation in the air.

"Well, Hazel. You see… Your late father was my older brother," He smiled encouragingly at her, "But the public liked to know him as Hades, the real estate owner."

For a moment there was silence, and every roll of the water in the harbour outside was deafening. Then Hazel started to laugh. Reyna frowned behind her, most likely doubting a certain someone's sanity.

"No way! Are you kidding me?" She paused and looked around at the serious faces around her. "What? That's not possible…"

But even as she stood there, feeling like everything she'd known about the world was being pulled out from under her like a rug, deep down she knew this man wasn't lying. In one particularly hazy memory, she remembered an old run-down apartment with only two rooms that she and her mother shared.

 _By night it was their house, by day it was the arena for scamming all manner of tourists and backpackers by fortune telling. One day, rushing down the dingy staircase to go out and play, she ran into a tall man heading up the stairs._

" _Sorry, mister!" She'd said, but the man only smiled softly._

" _Child, are you Hazel Levesque?" he asked in a quiet tone. She nodded a quick yes, before suddenly remembering her mother's orders to never talk to strangers._

 _The man smiled widely at her then and produced a parcel from his pocket. "These are for you, child. Be good now, I'll be watching. Remember, I'll always be here for you."_

And that was the end of it. She never saw or heard from the man again. What should be been counted as an encounter with a creepy stalker faded away into hazy childhood memories until years later, she thought she might have dreamt of it.

Now, in the present, Hazel realised that man was probably Hades. Her father, a rich and powerful white man, who had only ever given her a packet of coloured pencils. Heat surged through her veins.

"All these years, why didn't he ever come to help out? Do you know how hard it was after my mum died?" She turned away from her uncle and found herself facing the impassive face of Reyna and the confused Frank. She let out a disbelieving huff and shifted her gaze downwards.

Poseidon sighed behind her, his face clouded with grief and guilt, "Hazel. I am sorry for what you and your mother had to endure. But it was not by your father's choice. My brother wanted to set you both up for a life of plenty. But your mother felt that such an action would put you into the spotlight. And the kind of life that comes with media scrutiny is rarely happy."

The words settled into her head with a fatal boom. Her mother had always known about this? Even before she went off the deep end, diving into a life of drugs and substance abuse? Before she overdosed and left her only daughter alone? Could it be, that her own mother, had denied her the chance for a better life?

"You think that my life out of the media was any better?" She spluttered out.

Her uncle put a gentle hand on her shoulder, and she was tempted to throw it off. But there was something comforting about Poseidon that put her at ease, despite only meeting him a few moments before.

"I know it was not easy. But Hades did try to help you, behind the scenes." He gestured towards Reyna, "He sent a wonderful person to be your friend and protector. And the kind lady who took you in after your mother passed away, well… let's just say that not many people win lotteries in their lifetime."

Hazel was flabbergasted. Could be there truth in what she was being told? She glanced at Reyna, "Is this all true?" Despite everything, she still wanted her friend's support in this madness. Even though this madness was only the start of everything she had known unravelling.

Her friend paused in her gum chewing, "Have I ever lied to you? Have I ever tried to harm you?"

Those were well-chosen words, for Reyna had always been a good friend and regardless of the fact that she'd hidden vital parts of her identity she had been true throughout the years.

"No." Hazel admitted reluctantly, "No, you've always been a good friend. But you have lied to me about this."

Reyna scowled, "That was because your father ordered me. I'd have liked to tell you that your life might always be in danger and that I was actually your bodyguard as well, but that might have compromised your sense of normalcy. It was what your mother wanted for you."

Hazel thought hard. Should she be angry at the father who had abandoned her, or grateful for the man who had always tried to improve her life whilst respecting her mother's wishes? And what about her mother? Did she have a right to decide what kind of life Hazel would lead?

"And why bring me this knowledge now? Especially since my father is dead."

Poseidon stepped in with a kind smile, "He wanted to make sure that you were told of your parentage if he ever passed away. You needed to know who you were, because it is part of your identity. There's also the matter of the sum of money he left for you."

"He left me money? He left me something?" Hazel was suspicious. Today was shaping up like a scene from some fantasy movie. First, a school shooting, then she discovered her long-lost father is dead. Wow. She didn't know what to think.

"Of course, he did. You are still his daughter, illegitimate or not. You are family." Poseidon looped his thumbs through his belt, "I know this is a lot to take in and believe me when I say that this was not the way we planned to initiate you with your heritage. Those shooters at school today were hired killers, which means that someone unwanted has already discovered your identity. Possibly the same person or people who murdered my brother." His tone was cold at the end.

Oh right.

In the moment, she had completely forgotten that her father's death was treated as highly suspicious and still under private investigation. Maybe her mother was right maintaining a low profile.

"Why were they trying to kill me? I haven't done anything. I didn't even know who I was before you revealed it to me just then!" She could help but raise her voice. To put it plainly, she was scared. Terrified.

Her uncle waved a hand at Frank, who had been standing and gaping as they spoke. "Frank, go get the car. Notify Thanatos that we'll be there soon." He turned his attention back to his niece, "Hazel, I have no particular suspicions of who might want to harm you or your father. But, as you'd imagine, a man in his position had plenty of enemies. Though, I promise I will try my best to keep you safe."

Hazel swallowed and nodded, "What's going to happen now?"

"There are people you must meet," Poseidon said, "We will go back to your father's apartment in the city."

Reyna stepped up beside her, "I'm coming too, of course?"

Poseidon winked, "Of course. Don't best friends go everywhere together?"

-o-

When normal people say 'apartment' in New York they mean a reasonably generous living space, perhaps at max with a rooftop garden or something fancy like that. But Hazel guessed that when rich people talked about apartments, they actually referred to multistorey penthouses on top of grand business buildings.

When their car pulled into the front driveway and drop off area of the skyscraper that housed the offices of Elysium Real Estate, Hazel couldn't help by gape at the lush lawn surrounding a magnificent fountain which was spurting water at least twenty metres into the air. Craning her head, she could just see inside the lobby, where plush red carpets were uncaringly trodden underfoot by hundreds of men and women heading outside, glad to end another tiring day or work. They chattered as they walked, a rare few glancing at the large silver Rolls Royce that had just pulled up just outside the main entrance. But it was home time, and the thought of family and warm food was much more alluring than some VIP that might have arrived. For the main part, they were ignored.

"Six thirty," her uncle's words startled her, "Perfect! Just in time for dinner in half an hour."

Reyna rolled her eyes, "Do you like the building, Hazel?"

Hazel wasn't sure what to think. This entire empire of real estate had belonged to her father? She wasn't sure if it was right to be amazed when she was still so angry at his abandonment. As Frank turned off the engine, he grinned back at the occupants. "We're here! What do you think, Miss?"

Poseidon frowned, "If Thanatos was here, he'd be berating you about speaking to the principals in that casual tone."

Frank looked sheepish, "Sorry…"

"Let's just be glad that he-" Poseidon's words were cut off by the car door opening. Reyna's hand immediately moved towards her weapon. Hazel saw that there was an unfamiliar menacing man looking at them whilst holding open the door. At least, Hazel assumed that he was looking at them, for the dark-skinned man was wearing ominous shades.

Frank yelped. "Ah! Sir!"

But Poseidon reacted very differently. The car wavered as he got out and made a gesture as if he was about to hug the newcomer. "Thanatos! Speak of the devil! I have not seen you for many years, my good friend."

Sensing there was no danger, Reyna and Hazel exited the car too.

Thanatos was a formidable looking man, with a bald head, thick muscled armed and skin like a smooth black pearl. Hazel had to tilt her head way back to look at his face, which dropped down to face her impassively. Dark shades and a solemn black suit completed the typical security guard look, and as Hazel looked down hurriedly, she could see her reflection in his polished leather shoes. The bulge of at least two guns was unmistakable underneath his suit jacket. This man was no ordinary security guard, she knew, he was a trained and skilled killer.

Hazel was about to draw back, but Poseidon placed a hand reassuringly on her shoulder and kept her firmly in place.

"This is Hazel. She's the late Mr di Angelo's daughter. Hazel, this is Thanatos, your father's head of security. If you ever need anything, he's the one man you can be sure to trust outside of family."

Thanatos swung his head to her and dipped his head. He spoke to her in a voice that gave nothing away. "I see. Welcome, Miss Hazel. We've been expecting you."

-o-

 **What's going to happen next? Who knows? (I know) But anyhow, why not leave me a review with your thoughts and ideas? Us writers live and breathe them!**

 **Next chapter, we might see an reappearance of Nico. How has he dealt with his father's death and meeting a new sister?**

 **H.**


	4. Bothersome Brothers

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the series PJO or HOO.**

 **AN: I am back! Get ready for some fun adventures coming up. I'm not having a rest, Nico and Hazel are not having a rest, so neither should you! Go and give me some feedback!**

 **Things are heating up, we're adding some more depth into our characters. Along with some details that will go a long way to creating dramatic tension as the story goes one. Once again, I'm happy to report that we are well on the way!**

 **-H.**

-o-

Everyone, excluding Frank who had gone to park the car, was ushered into a generous lift, and in the absence of real stimuli, Hazel stared at their reflections in the shiny silver doors. There was her portly uncle, her best friend/bodyguard Reyna, Thanatos the intimidating head of security, and then there was herself. She looked unbelievably short in such company and her skinny frame was exacerbated by the strangely long reflections in the door. She hadn't yet had time to fathom all the events of today that led up to this moment.

Besides her, Thanatos spoke into a lapel microphone softly, "Take us up."

Abruptly, without anyone having pushed any buttons, they started to shoot up into the sky.

Poseidon dropped a fatherly hand on her shoulder, "You'll love the apartment, I'm certain of it. It was designed, and its building supervised by my brother himself. Four levels, each more fantastic than the last!"

Hazel glanced at Reyna out of habit, and the latter nodded with a smile. "The library is a piece of work indeed and you'll love the maids' cooking- everyone does. It almost makes up for the fact that they like to sneak up on you and hardly say a word. They're almost like ghosts."

"How many times have you been here?" Hazel couldn't help but feel a coil of jealousy stirring in the pit of her stomach at the thought that even Reyna knew more about what could have been her life than herself.

Her friend shrugged, "Not that many times. I came to report your progress to your father a few times. Saw your brother a few times."

"My brother? I have a brother?"

Hazel was surprised. She had always been an only child, but in hindsight it was perfectly logical that her father would have… legitimate children. Even the thought of speaking that word left a sour taste in her mouth. It made her feel unwanted and unneeded.

"Your brother, Nico, is quite a fellow. I'm sure you'll come to get along famously."

Reyna grinned as Poseidon finished, "After a while."

Thanatos frowned while her uncle made a 'hmmm' that could have been of dissent or agreement. Hazel didn't have time to find out. At that moment, the elevator stopped, and she was stunned into silence as the doors opened up into a brilliant modern kitchen. Glittering black marble countertops matched the polished silverware displayed in an open-style cupboard.

Thanatos made a shooing motion beside her, "Welcome home, Miss. The rest of the apartment is only assessable by taking the staircase. I look forwards to getting to know you more in the future."

Reyna, Hazel and Poseidon stepped out. Thanatos gave them a nod before the doors hide his solemn face from view.

"Wow." Hazel spun to take it all in. To the left of the elevator box rose a magnificent marble staircase, a path that was a splendid mixture of grey and white which spiralled upwards towards more floors. Rich people certainly had a different definition of 'apartment'. Reyna gave her a push and she realised that Poseidon had already moved on, heading for a room to the right.

"Go on," she whispered.

Hazel was so taken by the view that greeted her that she almost tripped over the lush carpet of the what was most likely the lounge room, a generous space filled with the biggest couch that she had ever seen. The olive coloured piece of furniture could have easily fitted ten seated people. In the far corner of the room was a small table with four cosy chairs, in the same colour scheme of olive and dull red.

There was no doubt that the whole room was decorated with an oriental theme in mind, but Hazel only had eyes for the city skyline that was displayed like a panorama through the floor to ceiling windows. Manhattan was often thought of as an ugly metal city, but in the glows of sunset it looked almost friendly. Could almost make one reminiscent of home.

"You know," a voice said right behind her, "I nearly had a heart attack when I found how much of that belonged to Hades."

Hazel started and spun around, almost colliding with a young man standing behind her. "Oh!"

The man grinned sheepishly and flashed her with a mouthful of perfect white teeth, "Sorry, Hazel. I'm Triton. I believe you've already met my father, Poseidon?"

Hazel could hardly believe her eyes. The man before her was dressed as formally as Poseidon was casual. With a full three-piece blue checked suit, he could have been mistaken for a fashionable accountant. His shirt was blindingly white and buttoned up the neck without a tie, a stylistic choice which showed off his broad chest attractively.

Hazel berated herself- this was her first cousin after all. "It's alright." She offered a small smile as they shook hands. "This is just a lot to take in. I'm Hazel, but of course you already know that."

Her eyes caught the lapel pin that Triton had on. It was a mermaid's tail, but instead of one, the tail divided into two, forming what looked like a stylised grappling hook with scales. "What's that?"

Triton followed her eyes down, "Oh. That's my variation of my father's company logo. He's got a trident, so I thought I'd go with the sea theme, but also add some flair to it." He pinched it shyly, "I got the inspiration from the legend of the sirens Poseidon used to tell me stories about the sea. Homer's The Odyssey was my favourite."

Hazel wasn't sure who Homer was.

She was saved however, because Poseidon stepped up and clasped a fatherly hand on both their shoulders, grinning widely. "Well, we run a shipping business- of course we must have an ocean related theme." Then he looked serious, "I will be busy helping your brother work out the handover and run the company for a few months at least, so I hope that you know if you need anything, Triton is the man to go to for help."

Reyna coughed and excused herself, explaining that she was going to supervise the creation of dinner downstairs. Where downstairs was, Hazel had no idea.

Now there was only family left in the room, Poseidon left a grimace come across his face. "How's Nico?"

Hazel was going to ask what was wrong, and then remember that her (and therefore his) father was dead. That would put quite a damper on most people's mood.

His son met his eyes briefly, "He's doing better. Last I saw, he was in a meeting with the family lawyers. They're in the library working out a range of legal documents."

Poseidon looped his thumbs through his belt, "Well, we'd better join them- as distasteful as lawyers generally are."

-o-

The library was just what you'd expect to find in an apartment like this. Whilst the other rooms were airy with floor to ceiling windows, the library was dark and shrouded in mystery. On the second floor, directly across from the staircase and through a dark wooden door that even Poseidon had to use both hands to push, the library was a secret cove. Wooden panels lined the whole room, and what wasn't taken up by maps and paintings were reserved by shelves upon shelves all crammed with books.

Hazel was flabbergasted that all this could belong to one person. It didn't seem right. But she was brought back to the present by four pairs of eyes that focused on her the moment the doors opened. There were three stern looking women and a boy seated around the boardroom table dominating the centre of the library.

The three women stood at her entrance, but the boy remained frozen where he sat. He glared at her with open hostility.

Poseidon pushed past her, "Nico, I've brought you a visitor."

Hazel tried for a smile, which was difficult under that gaze, "Hello, I'm-"

"I know exactly who you are. Hazel Levesque." Nico's voice was soft, but it was said with a bitter tremble. "How old are you?"

Hazel was taken back, "Seventeen. And there's no need to be rude. I didn't ask to be here either."

Triton tried for a laugh to break the tension, but Nico cut him off with a glare. "Well, you're right about that. No one wants to be here. Let's just get this over with." He gestured to one of the women, "Alecto, or any of your sisters who wishes to begin?"

Alecto nodded as she faced Nico, "Your father has decided to leave this woman here, Miss Hazel Levesque, a figure sum of ten million dollars. Along with a generous estate out in the country and the adjoining vineyard. Megaera?"

Hazel almost fainted. How rich had Hades been to be able to leave her money like this? Behind her Triton whistled and whispered a "congratulations". Her brother didn't move, didn't even act slightly surprised at the massive amount of his father's money being given to a near complete stranger.

Megaera spoke now in a slightly softer voice, "Do you intend to contest that, Mr di Angelo?"

Her half-brother looked away with a resigned sigh, "No. I do not. Let her have what she's been given."

The three suited ladies nodded in assent. "Very well," said the last sister, "We shall see it done. We'll take our leave now."

With that, the three picked up their briefcases along with a bundle of papers and paced out of the office. They give respectful nods to Hazel and their uncle Poseidon on the way out. Said man strode forwards in the now suddenly empty seeming room where Nico had stood up with a strange hesitance. Hazel thought he winced but wasn't sure. She didn't care either.

"Good choice, my boy." He slapped Nico on the back, nearly sending him sprawling, "The legal fees to dispute that might be even higher. Not to mention the money needed to hide the subsequent media storm."

Triton nodded, "Why don't we leave them alone for a little while, Father?"

Hazel tried to plead a no with her eyes, but her uncle fixed her a pointed glance. _Be nice_ , he seemed to say. Together, he and his son left the library.

Now the room was filled with an awkward silence. Nico sat back down in the armchair and stared openly at her. Not only was it rude, but such a gesture reminded Hazel painfully of all the looks that the people at her school had given her. It was a look that said you don't belong, with a dose of we don't want you here at all.

"What? Do you expect me to say thank you?" she demanded. She braced herself and straightened her posture, refusing to look cowed by his gaze. Her half-brother coughed to clear his throat before he spoke.

"My father can do whatever he wants with his money. But you? You're not what I expected of one of father's children."

For some reason, this rubbed her the wrong way. Hazel sneered, "I didn't expect a rich white man to be my father either. But we don't choose what family we're born into, do we?"

Nico gave her a cold glance. "That's not what I meant. I was just curious as to how my father could have fallen so low to have an affair with some woman from the ghetto."

"How dare you? You want to insult my birth now- it's a bit too late now. Look here, you've been nothing but hostile towards me and I haven't even done anything wrong." Hazel tried her best to keep calm.

Nico's brow contorted and he opened his mouth to say something, but Poseidon walked in at that very moment. "Dinner is served!"

He looked positively drunk. Triton stepped around his father carefully, "Is everything alright?"

"Everything is fine!" Hazel spat out. "I'm going to go home right now."

"But you haven't had dinner yet. The cooks have whipped up quite a meal, we've got roast pork belly, or scallops if you're more of the seafood type. I've heard that dessert is something to look forwards to today too!" Their uncle patted his stomach, "Though I look forwards to dessert every day!"

Triton, unlike his father, seemed to sense that something was not right. He stepped forwards. "Are you alright?" He asked his cousin cautiously, "What's wrong?"

Nico glared daggers at Hazel and then swept a glance over the two new occupants of the room.

"Everything is fine. Go to dinner." He stood straighter, and with tense shoulders made a shooing motion. "Go on."

Triton gave him a concerned look, "Are you not dining with us?"

Nico frowned, his mouth twisting into a bitter expression. "I'm not feeling well. And even if I was, I'm not going to eat with _her_."

He stalked out of the room. Hazel wondered if he was going to knock into her with is shoulder or something dramatic like in the movies. She braced herself firmly, ready to deal with his tricks.

But as he walked past her, Hazel couldn't help but notice how… unwell he looked. What had been concealed by the dim light of the library was revealed by the white light of the corridor.

Pale and with dark eye circles, Nico did not seem familiar with restful sleep. More alarmingly, as he turned to glare at her as they passed by each other without any physical contact, she could see that his skin was clammy. And despite the hateful expression in his eyes, there were beads of sweat gleamed around his hairline.

Still, that small tingle of concern went out of the window when she remembered how unnecessarily cruel he had been.

Hazel glanced at her retreating back and then at her uncle, afraid that he was going to berate her for making a mess of things. But Poseidon merely shrugged, "Well, he doesn't know what he's missing out on."

 **-o-**

 **So… How do you all like Nico?**


	5. Devious Developments

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the series PJO or HOO.**

 **AN: So, my plan is to update the story once every two weeks. This obviously will differ depending on what I have going on in my life. I expect the upcoming exams will take some time away for writing, so please bear with me. Once again, thanks very much to all the new followers and a cheeky hello to my old fans that have stalked me into this story!**

 **-H.**

-o-

For a moment, Hazel wasn't sure where she had woken up. The sheets seemed too soft, and the bed was way too big. Cautiously, she sat up and looked around, when suddenly the events of yesterday hit her like a tidal wave and she flopped back onto the mountain of pillows on the bed that was now 'hers'.

Everything was solid. It wasn't a dream. She really was the illegitimate child of Hades, and she was really still in his apartment. She shook her head to clear away the lingering doubt and sat up again.

Unknown to her, someone had already drawn the curtains and the pale morning sunlight was streaming in. It was likely one of the silent-as-the-grave maids, who had also served their dinner last night. Just as Reyna said, they didn't anything at all and walked so quietly that it was unnerving. The room that she had been allocated was on the third floor, right above the library. It was graced with floor-to-ceiling windows that offered a brilliant view of the New York skyline. From this high up, the cars down below were reduced to crawling insects that made dull hums.

It seemed that a lot had changed for her in the space of one day.

Hazel scrutinized her room a bit more, now that it was flooded with natural light. Last night she hadn't realized how well the deep blue and silvery grey hues worked in the room. The bed upon where she sat was mostly grey, as were the reading chair that stood near the door, and the curved lounge that was tucked in the corner. These pieces of grey and silver were complemented with many blue pillows and cushions. Huge silken lavender colored drapes completely the cool modern look.

Not the mention the walk-in wardrobe (mysteriously fitted with clothing her size) and the spa fitted bathroom. She felt like she had won a luxurious holiday at a five-star resort.

From downstairs, she heard the twinkling of a bell being shaken and realized that this was the call to breakfast that Uncle Poseidon had mentioned before they separated on the stairs last night.

Hurriedly, Hazel got up to wash and dress.

-o-

When Hazel rushed downstairs, afraid that there might not been enough food left for her, she realized she needn't have worried. Patting down her simple white cotton shirt and black jeans, the first thing she saw was Frank wielding a strange looking instrument on the kitchen bench. He was furiously stirring a tumbler of some liquid. But when he saw her, he smiled and nodded, "Breakfast area is to the left, Miss Hazel."

Hazel could help but be fascinated by what the young bodyguard was doing. "What's that?"

Frank grinned as he began to shave a strip of orange peel, "You'll see." With a few clicking sounds, the machine in his hand came alight- it was a blowtorch. Frank fired the orange peel strip and dropped it in a tumbler of amber liquid. It landed quite uselessly on top of some huge ice cubes. "Ta-da!"

Hazel had never been more confused in her life. "What's that?"

"It's an old-fashioned, of course!" Frank looked proud of himself. "Mr di Angelo Senior insisted on one every morning and now your brother has picked up the habit."

These rich people and their weird habits, Hazel wanted to roll her eyes. "So, it's alcohol?"

"It's whiskey. Aged for almost three decades." An unwelcome voice said behind her.

Frank straightened up and gave Nico a respectful nod, "Sir."

The latter returned the gesture and frowned at her as he picked up the glass. Hazel thought he looked better than yesterday, but his face was still an unhealthy pallor. She could see how his hand trembled as he lifted the glass.

"The smell of a good day ahead." He inhaled the whiskey and gave a sigh of satisfaction.

Hazel frowned. She wanted to get him off his high horse. Perhaps she should point out the dangers of underage drinking- but rich people didn't play by the rules anyways.

"It smells like a permanent marker to me." She said indeed.

Nico pressed his lips tightly together and headed into the room on the right, the lounge room if Hazel remembered correctly, without another word. Hazel, on the other hand, felt a sense of satisfaction at her small victory. But then she felt a bit guilty.

Hazel shrugged and turned in the opposite direction.

-o-

Triton and Poseidon were already seated at the relatively modest round table digging into their food when Hazel entered the room. At the sight of her, Poseidon smiled and beckoned her over.

"Good morning, Niece! Welcome to the breakfast area. We do a buffet every morning, so please help yourself."

Hazel smiled and looked around, feeling stupid for thinking that food could be limited in an environment like this. The 'breakfast area' was decorated with a muted grey scheme, with no windows to be seen. It seemed almost like a secret room within the grandeur of the rest of the household. The only standout part was the light hanging from the ceiling in the center of the room. It looked like an enlarged bird's nest created from wires and paper but glowed a warm orange.

True to Poseidon's word, there was a side bench heaped with food. From bacon and eggs to toast and sausages, Hazel couldn't believe how much food there was. There was even a self-serve soup station on the side, with at least ten different styles of soups sitting in large silver pots.

"Does all this food get made here?" she queried, before helping herself by piling up a plate.

Triton nodded gingerly as he stuffed toast into his mouth, "It all gets made downstairs."

"Oh? Where's 'downstairs'?"

"It's where all the house staff sleep and hang out. Also, all our security detail has their offices there." Triton patted the empty seat next to him, "Come sit next to me."

She did.

Her cousin turned to her and gave a sincere smile, "I'm so glad I finally get a cousin who doesn't mope about all the time."

Hazel laughed, "Well, I have my mopey moments. But Nico's just lost his father, so it's justified."

Poseidon suddenly had a keen interest in their conversation. "Well, technically- so did you."

She started, suddenly feeling awkward. "Well… I didn't know he even existed before yesterday. Then I had a father, and a few moments later he was 'dead' again. The point is- Nico's relationship with Hades must have been very different from that."

Triton shook his head, ignoring Poseidon's warning look. "Well, I don't think anyone ever gets to know Hades. Even if you're his son. As far as I know, Nico spent most of his time away at a boarding school in Italy, only coming home on special occasions."

Poseidon cleared his throat, "You mustn't speak ill of the dead, Triton. And anyway, that's all worlds away now."

For a moment, everyone was silent. Then he spoke again. "Hazel, I've got your financial situation sorted out. The lawyers tell me that since you are not of age, you cannot formally inherit property yet." He slid a bank card towards her, "But, they have put aside the ten million dollars in another account that is accessible to you, to use as you see fit."

Ten million! Even though she thought she had gotten over the shock yesterday, hearing it said again made her want to scream out loud. Poseidon gave a rueful smile, "I wouldn't recommend buying any sports cars or houses. Remember, you've still got that estate out in the country. But anything else you want to get, I won't stop you."

"Thank you… Uncle."

The sound of footsteps directed their attention to the door. Nico ambled in, looking more refreshed than Hazel had ever seen him. He placed his now empty glass on the side table.

"What's going on?"

"We're having breakfast, do you want to join us?" Triton gestured to the table, "You look better by the way."

Nico brushed off his offer, "I've already had a tray." But he moved to sit at the table anyway, as far as he could away from Hazel. Poseidon glanced at them curiously.

"When we're done, I'd like some coffee sent up the library. Frank?"

Hazel started again. Did everyone in this household have the habit of creeping up on you? Near the door stood Frank and Reyna. Side by side, and in similar black coloured suits, they were a sight. Frank was the size of a small bear but had a confused expression on his face. Hazel thought it was kind of cute. Next to him, much smaller in stature, but equally threatening, was Reyna. She had dark sunglasses on today and an earpiece in her left ear. She was the picture of readiness.

Frank was not. At Nico's order, he nodded hurried, "Yes, sir!"

Poseidon cleaned his mouth with a napkin and looked at the children around the table, "Nico, Hazel- I need to speak to the both of you in the library. It's about your father."

Nico grimaced, most likely hating that fact that Hades was _their_ father. Poseidon glanced over at Triton, "Son, why don't you get started catching up on all the paperwork that we've neglected in the last week?"

It was a clear dismissal and Triton's face fell. But then he collected himself and stood, his graceful charming side back in control after a small set back. "Sure thing."

-o-

Nico couldn't help but feel relieved as he sank into one of the library's armchairs. Despite feeling considerably better after a drink in the morning, he could feel his heart pounding after only climbing one flight of stairs. It shouldn't be like this.

It certainly wasn't before.

He wasn't sure why his body hated him. Sure, he had never been particularly fit, but he was healthy enough to manage stairs and even a football game once in a while. In Italy, where he had been schooled and lived for the majority of his life, he positively glowed with a deep sense of contentment.

The school was located out in the country, much like an oasis in this busy world. He and his classmates had swum, rode and fished. It was a carefree life. But the moment his feet were back on home ground, things had spiraled out of control. His father had been killed- no, murdered. He had been declared mentally unfit to take over the running of his father's business (too much grief will addle one's brain, the board had said), and thus Uncle Poseidon and his son were here until further notice, to run the company and to give him judging looks whenever they had the time. As if he was a sick puppy that needed to be rescued.

Maybe their worried was deserved, he thought uncomfortably, as he felt his shirt stick to his back with sweat. He was always too hot these days and he wasn't sure why his heart seemed to be always pounded painfully. Their family doctor had found nothing wrong with him after the accident. He didn't doubt the man's expertise, but there was a nagging doubt that whispered of wrongness in the back of his mind. It suddenly seemed that his thoughts had run away again.

Bringing himself back to the present, Nico looked across the table at his uncle, and then found another pair of eyes on him. Judging. Scrutinising.

The girl. His half-sister. The embodiment of his father's disloyalty. Nico didn't want to even think about it. It made his gut churn with anger. How dare this girl suddenly step into their lives and claim a piece of his father's money! More frustratingly, it seemed that she wanted to become a permanent part of the establishment. He'd thought she would be gone by morning with her money- but evidently not.

Poseidon directed their attention back to him with a cough, "Children. I won't beat about the bush. I must tell you something about your father that very few people in the world know. Very few, I emphasise."

Nico's interest was piqued. He felt Hazel sit straighter in her seat too. It seemed strange and wrong to him that she would be here.

Their uncle sighed, "I wouldn't tell you this if it wasn't a last resort measure. Your father- my brother, was murdered, this we all know."

"But why?" Poseidon looked like he was mustering up his courage, "The truth is that Hades wasn't a mere businessman. Not only a legitimate one anyway. Up until a few months ago, he controlled most of the supplies of illegal substances in New York. People in the black market called him the Lord of the Underworld."

Hazel didn't know what to say. She felt that she didn't have a right to pass comment on a man she had never met. But then, the words struck her. Illegal substances?

But her sudden burst of terror could not match Nico's reaction. The young man had turned more ashen if it was possible. In a disbelieving and desperately choked voice, he said "What? What do you mean? You mean to say he was a criminal?"

Their uncle nodded seriously, "Yes. That is exactly what I mean. Your father was a criminal _mastermind_ , and the substances he and I shipped and distributed in our youths and middle ages is what our fortunes were made from."

Nico sat back down in the chair. He was so silent that Hazel was worried for him. There was no doubt that it was the lull before the storm. "I can't believe it either," she said. "I've never him, but it doesn't seem to make sense."

"No, it does." Poseidon said sadly. "My brother and I were always fortunate in business, but no one makes this much money without there being blood and gore involved. I'm not proud of what we did, but he did it all for you, Nico."

When the said boy didn't reply, he pressed on. "His children were his crowning jewels, his legacy- his future. Everything he did, he did so that you would want for nothing in your life."

Hazel felt her half-brother shift in his seat and looked up to catch their Uncle's eye. He looked furious, "He did it for me? So that I would want for nothing? He ruined the lives of how many thousands of people- for me? I was sent away from my family for years, because my mother was murdered right before my eyes. Don't tell me that my father did what he did for love. Love of money, of power, but definitely not out of love for his children."

Hazel wanted to jump in and interject, but she couldn't find the words. She couldn't believe that Hades would have been involved in such affairs. Certainly, she'd never been optimistic about the world, or particularly trusted insanely rich people like Hades, but it had all shifted a bit when she learnt that they were father and daughter.

Poseidon picked up his coffee mug and looked down into the steaming hot liquid, "I know it is hard to understand. And my brother would never admit it, but he loved his children more than he ever loved any material. After your sister, Bianca, passed away a few years ago, his only remaining child and heir was everything to him."

Hazel couldn't believe her ears. She had never thought that Nico might have had another sibling, and certainly never thought that they may have died. She snuck a glance at him and then looked away hurriedly. For a moment, she admired this boy. How could he sit there and take it, one loss after another? She knew she certainly couldn't go through such things and come out the other side a moderately functioning human being.

Nico gritted his teeth so hard that their dentist would certainly have hit him upside the head, "Why are you telling us this now?"

"Because the people who murdered him may very well be coming for you two as well," Poseidon said it so matter of fact that Nico almost missed it. But then the words hit home, and a rush of intense fear washed over him.

"Why?" Hazel asked, looking from Nico to Poseidon. "What have we ever done to them?"

"Nothing. But thoughts of revenge are rarely logical. If they had the audacity to assassination my brother, then they wouldn't flinch at the thought of killing his children."

Hazel was livid, "This madman's actions have put me in danger. I didn't choose to be here-"

Nico stood suddenly, "Stop! Just stop it! No one chose to be here. I think my…our father was a fool to dabble in criminal activities, but you will not speak ill of him."

He met her eyes, and suddenly it struck her that he wasn't angry, but more tired than anything else. "This man," Nico continued flatly, "He kept a lot of secrets. I knew that. I didn't know what they were, and I didn't see a need to guess at them."

"That doesn't mean that you wouldn't suspect him of it."

"Who suspects their own father of being a criminal mastermind?"

"If he was my father, I would be pretty suspicious about where his mountains of money came from!"

"He is your father!" Nico's voice was raised, edged with frustration.

That was the crux of the matter. These two strangers from very different backgrounds had been thrown together into one boat and been told to row for their lives.

"He copulated with your mother to produce you- that makes him your father. Whether you or I accept it doesn't matter. He is your father as much as he is mine."

"At least you knew him. He's never lifted a single finger to help me," Hazel saw red, "Not even when my mother died!"

Nico, who had his mouth open to retort, turned away and didn't meet her eyes, "I'm sorry. I didn't know. That wasn't right of him."

"I don't need your apologies." She thought about storming out but then decided against it. "Do you know how it felt, watching your mother slowly spiral down into some drug-induced hell, know there was nothing you could do?"

Nico felt like he had suddenly aged by a few decades. His head hurt, and his heart was pounding again. He knew that he couldn't even make it back to his room in this state.

"Why did he never tell me? Why did he send me away for to far-off school and never tell me anything?"

Poseidon shook his head, "He was trying to protect you. Your father was harsh on you because he believed strict parenting increased the chances of you being successful and happy."

Hazel didn't want to point out that harsh parenting probably also increased the chances of depression and suicidal thoughts. Not when her brother already looked so upset and defeated- she wasn't that cruel.

Their uncle stood, "That's enough for today. I swear that I will protect you two as if you are my own. And now, it is important that we stick together. So tomorrow, you will both go to pay a visit to your father's grave. It would do you both good- give you a sense of closure. And some time alone together might help you bond."

Hazel thought that he couldn't be more wrong. Putting her and Nico together without responsible adult supervision was a bad idea.

-o-

"Tomorrow, they will go to the graveyard." The voice over the phone was muffed, "You must make sure this time. No one can get away. If we fail again, they will double the security and it will be much harder to get rid of them."

The call's recipient nodded, and then spoke into the mouthpiece, "I won't fail this time. The boy will die, and so will the girl."

"Make sure of it. This is the best chance we have. They will think it disrespectful to bring security guards to their father's grave. In other words- they will be all alone."

"Good luck."

The line went dead.

In the silence, the assassin ran through the plan in his head again.

-o-

 **See you next chapter.**

 **-H.**


	6. Exciting Encounters

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the series PJO or HOO.**

 **Thanks to all those that faved and reviewed in the last week**

-o-

A shiny black Jeep was waiting for her out the front. Hazel would see Frank's figure already in the driver's seat, but Nico and Reyna seemed to be engrossed in conversation, the topic so interesting that they didn't even turn notice her approach.

"We can't do this," She heard Nico insist, "Not now. I can't talk about this now. And especially not with-"

Reyna cut him off with a look. "Hello, Hazel. You took your time."

Her friend/bodyguard's usually sarcastic demeanor was back, but Hazel wished that her eyes weren't covered in shades. She seemed hesitant. Hazel wanted to know what secrets they had been discussing.

Nico gave her a quick look and opened the door for himself. He clambered in, leaving no room for questions. With a sigh, she followed as well.

Frank met her eyes and gave a smile in the rearview mirror. "How is everything, Miss? Have you settled in yet?"

"Hey Frank. I've already said that you can call me Hazel."

"Thanatos won't like that." Nico grunted, "He'll reprimand you for it."

Hazel flashed an annoyed look at him as she fastened her seatbelt, "Then call me by my _name_ when he's not around. Switch if he's within earshot. Sometimes, I wonder whether Thanatos runs the place, or if you do."

Nico fastened his own seatbelt as the car pulled out into the building's spacious driveway. It was a Sunday, so the whole place was eerily empty. With only the soft ruffle of trees in the background reminding them that winter was due to arrive soon, Hazel felt something heavy settle in the pit of her stomach as if a big event was going to happen today.

Just in the other day, the car they were in seemed bigger on the inside too. She had never been in any fancy cars, but this seemed over the top even to her limited experience. Leather seats with warmer functions, mini fridges in the sidebars, even an umbrella holder fitted neatly into the side. One of those old-fashioned wooded handled black umbrellas filled snugly into that space. Hazel absentmindedly thought that there was no rain predicted on the weather forecast today.

"This car is pretty fancy," she remarked without thinking. _Facepalm_.

Frank chuckled, "I make sure it's always stocked up with food and drinks too. And waxed. Thanatos always gets on my case about car cleaning."

Reyna nodded, "The best thing about this car- it could stand a blast from landmine below."

Hazel wasn't sure what to make of that. It made her nervous to think that there were such precautions to protect their lives. It also reminded her that despite all this protection, her father was still dead.

Beside her, Nico suddenly let out a pained groan. She watched him massage his chest with a grimace, and asked out of habit, "Are you ok?"

Reyna perked up in the front seat and cocked one ear to listen.

Her half-brother relaxed against the seat again, "Of course. And in response to your earlier query. Thanatos runs the building and all the staff within it. He's been with my father for decades and I have absolute faith in him."

"Perhaps you should let him run your businesses too then."

He didn't reply. Maybe it was her imagination, but there was a flash of brief worry across his face.

-o-

Her first thought was that the piece of black marble in front of her didn't do Hades any justice. Less than half an hour drive from the office, in the heart of Brooklyn, was a small sheltered graveyard that was remarkably ordinary.

Almost too ordinary.

She hadn't thought that this was where such a well-known and wealthy man would choose to be buried. "Did he want to be buried here?"

Nico nodded absentmindedly. "Yes, he wanted a simple place. He didn't believe in an afterlife, and accordingly, he didn't see any need to have some grand grave marker if you couldn't be there to appreciate it."

"Well, your family members could come to see it."

"I would want my family to remember me for who I was, not how pretty my grave looked. Wouldn't you? Plus, grand graves attract unwanted attention and there are groups out there that always search for new places to picket."

Hazel nodded, uncertain of what to say.

From his calm tone and the fact that they had managed a short but civil conversation, she could see that his general annoyance at her was abated by the solemnness of the place they were in.

Beside the larger marker for their father, lay two other similar stones. Hazel could help but feel for her half-brother. He was all that remained of his direct family- it was no wonder he was so bitter all the time. As Nico knelt down slowly and placed bunches of fresh flowers at the bottom of the headstones, she looked around. Tall, thick-trunked trees stood like sentinels amongst the scatter grave markers. She could see the keeper's cottage at the edge of the fenced perimeter. It was quiet here, almost too quiet. Even in the heart of a polluted megacity, surely there were normally birds. But not here. It was almost as even the animals had been muted by the aura of death that clung to this place and thickened the air with gloom.

For a moment, she regretted their decision for Reyna and Frank to stay by the car outside. She was brought back to the present as Nico stood again. The dust from the other gravestones had been cleared away now. She handed his umbrella back- it was a large and heavy thing. She didn't know why he insisted on carrying it around.

"Was Bianca your sister?"

"Well, she's not my mother. So, she must be the other female family member I've lost." He sounded bitter.

On Bianca's gravestone was a bunch of blue roses. Hazel wondered if they were natural- surely not.

"What's with the blue flowers?"

Nico only gave a tired smile. "I'll tell you the story later."

They stood there, side by side for a moment. The silence stretched, and Hazel wondered if she should say something, or offer a hug to Nico. Deciding against the latter, she whispered hesitantly, "I'm sorry."

Her half-brother turned and raised an eyebrow in mock amazement. "Miss Levesque, showing me some affection?"

"You could call me Hazel. And for your information, I'm not the one who was rude from the moment we met. I don't like your kind, but prejudices can always be put aside if you weren't such an arrogant man-child."

Nico pursued his lips and flashed her a cold glance. Hazel berated herself for getting carried away. For a moment, she had forgotten that they were not at the stage of friendly banter. "Why do you look at me like that? Do you really resent me that much?"

"No. No, I don't. I might dislike you for the way you seemed to get on my bad side every moment that we are together, but I don't hate you. If I resent you, it's because of what you represent."

"Nico," she paused uncertainly, "I think I 'get on your bad side' because I don't worship you for the money that your family, or our family, have. And you're just not used to people who don't bow and scrape in your presence."

"That's not true."

"It is true."

Nico didn't reply. He was looking off into the distance. "What is it?" she asked him. Something was off about that look on his face. Rain clouds were gathering in the distance. Maybe Nico had been right to bring that umbrella.

"There's a man there, under that tree, watching us." She made to look, but Nico suddenly pulled her into a side hug. Their heads were bowed, looking every part a grieving couple or family. She was so startled at the gesture she froze. "Don't look at him. Or if you're going to- just look carefully."

She did. In the shade of a towering pine tree was the shadowy figure of a man, dressed completely in black. "How did you even see him?"

Nico sucked in a breath, "See? This is why you get on my nerves. I'm rich. Not blind. And certainly not stupid."

Suddenly, there was a swift movement from the left. Nico's head turned automatically in response. Hazel lifted her head too, but just in time to watch the shadowy figure move, reaching one hand into the folds of his jacket. Maybe she had watched too many thrillers, but she wasn't taking any chances.

"Down!"

She shoved herself into Nico, sending the two of them toppling onto the ground.

And just in time! One second more, and it would have been almost too late. With a sharp cracking sound, the grave marker behind them exploded with the impact of a bullet, spraying dust and ricocheting sharp bits of marble everywhere. There were two more shots. One whistled dangerously close to her ear and the other elicited a cry of pain from her half-brother.

She felt her heart leap to her throat. "Are you okay?!"

Nico pressed a hand to his right shoulder, "Gods, that hurts. Who knew a rock could hurt so much?" It was a sharp rock that had hit him, not a bullet. Her heart was bumping up and down in her chest as she lay still, half draped over Nico. She could see how pale he was. Even though the wound was likely not serious, she worried that he was going to go into shock right there and then. Shuffled away from him, Hazel peered up from the graveyard. The shooter was no longer under the shade of the trees.

He was stalking them.

"How many are there?!" She asked, ducking down next to Nico again. He looked ill now.

"Two. At least two men." Her half-brother gasped out, "I can't do this again. Not after her… Not after father. Am I just ill-fated? Does everyone in this family have to die from being shot? Although, mother wasn't shot." Amid his racing speech, his breaths started to come out in sharp wheezes, and Nico clutched at his chest, almost like he was having a heart attack. His mumbling became nonsensical.

Hazel felt her heart clench. She had seen people become like this before. Some sort of quick onset panic attack. Violence was rampant where she lived and these shell-shocked reactions from family members of those lost to senseless violence always broke her heart. It scared her to see Nico like this- gripped so tightly by the uncontrollable fight-or-flight responses and overwhelmed by memories that he couldn't escape.

"Come on! We've got to go! They're coming for us!" She gripped on to the lapel of his blazer. "Nico? Nico! Stop- you're better than this."

Nico shook in her grasp, and when he gripped her wrists she was almost pulled over. He muttered about his sister, Bianca. An idea struck Hazel suddenly- a terrible idea. But the only one that she could put a little hope in. She struggled against his panicked grip and much heavier weight. "Nico! Look at me! We're both going to die if you don't pull yourself together. Do you want to lose another sister?"

Something in his glazed eyes changed, like a flash of lightning, awareness snapped back into Nico. He let her go. "What? What did you say?"

She dragged him up further from the ground, "Yes. We're both going to die if you don't get up now. Those men are coming to kill us!"

Nico pushed her away as the words sank into his brain at last. "Where's my umbrella? Where is it!?" He rolled over, coating his black suit with brown dust in the process. At last, he found the rain proofing instrument. He stood, bracing himself with the wooden stick.

Hazel steadied him and gasped in fear as she saw the shadowy man standing no more than a meter away. "What do you want from us?" Her brother demanded shakily. He pointed the umbrella at the man as if it was a genuine threat.

The man smiled at him. His face was covered, but Hazel could see evil in his dark eyes. "I need to take your life. And I must say, thank you for giving me my fortune."

His aimed the gun, straight at Nico. But the boy that was his target had a trick up his sleeve. With a deft sliding motion on the curved wooden handle of the umbrella, Hazel heard a clicking sound, like a light being turned on. There was a WHOOSH.

A meter away, their would-be assassin's mouth turned into an O of surprise. His gun fired but grossly missed. He fell to the ground, trembling as if he was having a seizure. Hazel realized that he was being electrocuted, and her brain did a somersault when she realized that Nico was the source of his pain.

"Your umbrella is a taser?!" she demanded, mad but also relieved, "Why did you say so earlier?"

Nico opened the umbrella and turned it to face their left. The downed assassin's partner in crime was rushing towards them. Obviously, he had thought his friend was more than enough to deal with two kids. He had not counted on this taser-umbrella business.

Her half-brother pulled her behind the umbrella and braced it. "It just wasn't the right time to bring it up." Sounds like firecrackers exploding came from right behind the instrument originally designed with rain protection, Nico jerked back against the impacts. "Did I mention that it was bulletproof too?" He shouted over the din.

Hazel thought he had lost his mind. She steered him towards the direction of the gate keeper's cottage. That was where the main road was. "You're mad! Come on! That won't hold for long!" They made a run for it, Hazel leading the way and trying not to trip over the lumps of grass or stray tree roots, Nico defending them from peppering gunfire with an umbrella. Hazel could not believe that her life had fallen into such disrepair within the length of three days.

Suddenly the sound of more gunfire reached their ears. But before she could be overcome with complete desperation, she heard the loud voice of Frank. Her heart soared. Reyna and Frank were here to save them.

Peering out quickly from the umbrella when there was a break in the gunfire, she saw the bulky figure of Frank crouched not too far away from where they were, obviously trying to reach them. She didn't see Reyna, but she saw gravestones explode like buried landmines and deduced that her friend was probably occupied.

Frank's eyes met hers. "Go!" He shouted over the din, not able to get up from his crouched position, "Hurry! Use that entrance, regroup later. Stay with Nico!"

Worry twisted her heart, but then she reminded herself that Frank and Reyna were both trained professionals in the field of guns and dangerous activity, despite their age. Nico, on the other hand had no such qualms, he grabbed her arm and ran. "Run like your life depends on it!" He shouted as he threw the wrecked umbrella to one side.

"It does!" She scrambled after him.

They burst out into the busy street. In the midafternoon, the street was filled with business people returning from lunch. Or delivery people running errands. But they weren't safe yet, for two men in black trench coats peeled themselves from the wall where they had been leaning and headed straight for them.

Hazel realized that they had been guarding the back entrance of the graveyard. "Nico! Those two guys are out to get us!"

Her half-brother stiffened beside her, "Gods, when will we ever be free of this! Come on!" He grabbed her hand, quickly pulling her into a crowd of jumbled bodies, "Sorry! Excuse me!" They pushed past surprised middle-aged people and found themselves at the edge of the road.

Hazel turned and saw the two men were still following them, inciting curses and angry looks as they shoved through the crowd behind them. A young woman was putting some letters in a mailbox. She had a helmet under her arm. No more than two meters away, her hot pink scooter was still running.

Without hesitation, Nico pulled her towards the bike. He slid on and she jumped on behind him. "Can you drive this thing?"

"Of course." Nico looked at the panel for a second, an uncertain expression on his face.

The woman saw them. Her face turned red and her mouth opened to yell, "Hey! What do you think you're doing?!"

Nico sucked in a breath, "Here goes!" He pushed the kickstand up and pushed off for the curb. The scooter rushed off as he squeezed on the handlebars. "Worked out which one is the throttle! We'll be fine!"

Hazel clung on for dear life. She prayed to whoever was listening that they would not die. The owner of the scooter started out of her shock and was moving towards them. "Stop! Thieves!"

Nico gave the scooter another burst of speed. "Lady, I'll pay you back! I promise!" He shouted words lost to the wind.

They joined the busy traffic of New York. Nico wasn't the greatest driver- but they hadn't died yet. She gripped onto him and looked in concern at the tear on the back of his jacket. "You're bleeding a bit."

"Don't worry about that. Where do we go?" In the rush, they had just followed which ever direction had a green light. Now they were helplessly lost. But suddenly they past a building with a Guy Fawkes mask graffitied on the side.

Hazel realized that she knew this place. "I know where we can go. Take a left here." Nico did as she asked, "Dear brother- It's time you got to know how the other half lived."

-o-

They ditched the scooter at the end of an alleyway not far from their destination. Despite the run-down houses and broken glass bottled that seemed to be littered everywhere, Hazel felt strength rush through her. This was her domain. She turned to see how Nico was faring and saw that he looked utterly defeated.

"Are you ok?" She saw that he was grimacing again. "What's wrong with you?"

Her half brother looked away, "I don't know. I've been getting these weird chest pains. They come and go, like suddenly someone is stabbing me with a knife."

She stopped and went to him. It surprised her that a proud man like himself was confiding in her. It was getting darker now. Maybe it just always seemed dark here, in this suburb. "Do you need to sit down?"

"No, it only hurts for a moment- then I'm fine," Nico straightened up, "Where are we going anyways?"

She was silent as they walked the next few meters. They stood on the curb outside an old apartment complex. It must have been bright orange once, but now it was decorated with peeling strips of yellow paint. They didn't do much to cover the cheap concrete slabs that had been hasty constructed for the unfortunate poor that resided inside.

Nico wheezed beside her. She made a mental note to give him a check over when they got inside. She turned to him solemnly.

"We're here. Home sweet home."

-o-

 **AN: Exam season soon, I will try my best to upload regularly though. I promise a chapter at least every 2 weeks. If you want them fast, then trade over a few reviews and favourites. And for those who are wondering- I was inspired by Kingsman for the wacky umbrellas.**

 **H.**


	7. Small Spaces

**AN: Bet some of you thought you'd never see me again, right? Well, I never give up on my stories, except that one on hiatus (check it out- I'm stuck for ideas!). Erm… Anyways. Over the break I really tidied up my thoughts and the story plan and I must let you know that though this story has a slow ascent, everything goes downhill very quickly.**

 **Stay with me, dear readers, and you will be rewarded.**

-o-

If the apartment seemed small from the outside, then it wasn't lying. The whole place consisted of two medium sized bedrooms, an open plan living space/kitchen and a bathroom with a tub that had suspicious fungi growing inside it.

Years of hoarding and lack of thorough cleaning meant that the whole place was packed with dirty clothes, newspapers, and old food containers. Hazel was also sure that there was a family of mice somewhere in the equation. Yet, despite the terrible state of the apartment, it was the closest thing to a home that she had.

Gran was an old woman who spent more time watching TV than doing anything else. She wasn't really a blood relation, but she had been nicer to Hazel than any family members had ever been, not counting her own mother. And even her mum had to work several jobs and allow paying men to have their way with her to afford their bills and put food on the table. And then there was her drug habit. In the end, that was what had killed her.

Which was why she could taste the bitter irony that her father was a criminal who made his fortune shipping all kinds of illicit substances. She didn't know if her mother's death was a punishment from fate for her father or for her. Fate was no one's friend, after all.

Gran had been a resident in their neighboring apartment complex and she had assumed custody of Hazel when the police officers came looking. Because they were basically in the slums, the officers didn't bother asking for proof of relation. They were probably just glad to be rid of another kid who was be thrown into the foster system. When her mum was alive, Gran was a smaller, but still vital part of their life. When callers came to her mum, often in the late evenings, she would grab her schoolbag and run the whole way to Gran's place.

She was lucky to have Gran.

Best of all, Gran never asked questions. If she wanted to sleep here that was fine. If she wanted to spend the night alone in the old property that used to belong to her mum but was now empty, that was fine. And if Hazel decided to turn up randomly with some posh looking white guy- that was fine too.

When she came to the door with her usually toothless grin, she gave Hazel a tight hug and gave both a glance over, as if checking they still had all their limbs and let them in without a word.

Hazel was tired and hungry, now that the adrenaline had worn off. She glanced around at the familiar surroundings, breathed in that seemingly ever-present moldy smell that made the apartment distinct and felt a sense of safety wash over her. Nico was looking around too, but with an unreadable expression on his face.

"This is where you live?" He said cautiously. "It's not what I expected."

Hazel nodded. Suddenly it felt awkward just standing there on that dirty doormat that might have once said WELCOME. "It's not much, but it's home." She said the cliched words aloud.

Her half-brother nodded, deep in thought, "I quite agree."

"With which part?"

"Both."

Hazel beckoned him into her bedroom, which consisted of a small single bed, a simple wooden desk and a swirl chair that she had found by the side of the road a few years back. Suddenly, she was embarrassed. Nico had come from a life that was so far above this, so cushioned by wealth and convenience that this must have looked like a dog kennel to him.

But, Nico was surprisingly respectful. "May I sit down?"

Hazel shoved a bunch of clothes off the bed, feeling her cheeks heat as a bralette slipped out of the pile and landed on Nico's shoe. "Err… Sure." She grabbed the lingerie and threw it into a far corner of the room.

Her brother sat down cautiously and glanced around. He cleared his throat. "I'm really sorry. I don't know if I should be the one expressing this sentiment, but I really am. Our father could have easily raised you out of this environment, but he didn't. I don't know why, but I'm ashamed."

Hazel sat down next to him, touched by his words, but also a little bit indignant. "I appreciate it. But I think my mum told him that she wanted to be kept out of the spotlight."

"But he could have easily given you something to help," Nico glanced at the peeling wallpaper, "He didn't have to raise you to celebrity status, but a few hundred grands wouldn't have gone amiss."

Hazel nodded, "My mum was a proud and determined woman. If she wanted something, she would have gotten it. And she wanted me to have a normal life, so she made sure it happened."

"This isn't a normal life, Hazel. You can talk all you want about the all-encompassing power of love, but love doesn't buy you food, it doesn't buy you the bare necessities. I'm not saying that I had a better or more satisfying life- gods forbid, my family life was and still is nonexistent. But at least I knew that I wouldn't ever go hungry."

Hazel didn't know what to say. All these emotional words seemed foreign coming from Nico, even if she had only known him for a few days. She hid her surprise well though. "Let's look at that scratch on your back. Strip down whilst I go see if I can find a first aid pack somewhere."

Nico looked at her, as if he was seeing her for the first time. He smiled uncertainly. "Alright then."

-o-

Gran was in the kitchen, picking through the fridge. Evidently, she thought that they needed feeding.

"Don't worry about it, Gran. We'll just order some pizza in."

Gran stopped rummaging through the fridge and fixed Hazel with a toothless smile. "I'll just go watch the box then. Do ya need anything else?"

"Do you have a first aid kit anywhere? And a spare change of clothes for my friend?" Hazel wasn't sure why she didn't disclose Nico's actual identity. It wasn't that she didn't trust Gran, but an uncomfortable feeling wormed its way through her stomach whenever she thought about telling anyone who her real father was. And Gran, as trustworthy as she was, was bound to ask questions. Questions that she didn't want to answer.

Not to mention what Poseidon had said about that lottery win.

Gran stood on tiptoes and rummaged on the top of the fridge. She handed over a grimy dull-red bag, "Here's something. Clothes are on the couch." Hazel thanked her, then smiled quickly and left.

-o-

Nico was standing up again when she returned, examining her wall of photos. He was fixated on a photo of Hazel and Reyna, in school uniforms, both blissfully unaware of the future. Or, at least she was. Nico had taken his shirt off, and Hazel took in his pale back and wondered again whether they were really related. Such smooth skin, except for a short weeping scratch below his right shoulder.

"Hey?"

Her brother turned around. Hazel almost gasped in shock but caught herself before she could, for most of his lower left side was marred with purplish bruises. "What happened to you?"

Nico brushed her off, "Ribs take a long time to heal apparently. It's fine." He sat back down on the bed, "Are you going to just stand there and wait for me to die of infection?"

Hazel rolled her eyes. She sat down beside him and examined the contents of the first aid pack. The antiseptic bottle was already half empty and covered in grime, but Hazel figured it was better than nothing. _Could antiseptic expire?_ Pushing away the guilt, she poured some out onto a makeup pad and approached Nico. She edged closer to him, praying that Gran didn't choose the burst in that time. Especially since she hadn't explained that Nico was family.

Nico hissed in pain when she pressed the antiseptic-soaked cotton against his shoulder but didn't say anything else. She repeated the action a few more times, then took a large adhesive bandage and sealed the cut with it. "There, you'll be fine now. Put this on, I found it on the couch- pretty sure it's clean-ish." She handed over a rolled up black t-shirt to Nico.

Nico did so, and she couldn't help but let out a laugh at the sight of him dressed in a black t-shirt with a dancing skeleton on it. "Dude. You look great."

Her brother frowned, "Do you have any food?"

"It depends on whether you got a credit card." She grinned, "and an open mind?"

And that's how they ended up eating greasy pizzas from the Pizza Hut a few streets over. Hazel was munching down the doughy food, trying her best to not let too much juice drip down her chin. Nico, on the other hand, interwove every mouthful with a complaint.

"This is like fifty percent oil!"

"Stop complaining. It's not that bad. Don't tell me you've never had a pizza before."

Nico swallowed another mouthful and frowned, "Of course I have. But when I think pizza, I mean things like Pizzeria Bianco, not a lump of half cooked dough with some mushrooms on it. I think I might get food poisoning from this."

Hazel rolled her eyes. She would always be surprised by how childish Nico could be, and how quickly that stubborn young man in the library only two days ago could open to someone so quickly.

"You'll be fine. Just focus on something else."

Nico paused and shot a look over his shoulder, "So you've lived here all these years? With your mother and grandmother?"

She paused, the pizza suddenly tasting like sawdust in her mouth. "She's not really my grandmother. We used to live next door, and one day when I came home there was an ambulance and two police cars outside my house." Her voice caught slightly, but she pushed on, "I've been living here ever since. No one ever bothered to ask whether she was my relation or not. Gran's been here for me these last few years, ever since mum died."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't pity me. That's what I've gotten all these years from everyone and anyone that had the power to help me. I don't want that from you."

And suddenly it was true. She didn't want Nico to just pity her. She wanted him to know the real her. Not just the unfortunate girl that grew up in what was basically a slum, but the person that she was inside, with interests and passions. It was interesting how quickly money could change one's mind. Now that she would never need to worry about where her next meal was coming from, she was more focused on fostering relationships with the people around her.

And Nico? The half-brother that she'd have never voluntarily talked to a few days ago had somehow become a close confidant. When people escape death together, they normally put aside their differences and became friends.

Nico raised an eyebrow, "I just meant that our father should have been there to help you guys out. At least in terms of the financial side of things."

"Is that all you think in terms of? Money?"

Nico grimaced, "That's not what I mean. I know that people with too much money can look unidimensional, but every individual is worth getting to know. I believe that, and I'd like to think that you believe it too."

It was as if her mind had been read. Hazel suddenly felt ashamed. She decided to let him off the hook and move onto another topic. Absentmindedly, she noticed that they had finished off the pizza.

"Should you call Frank and Reyna to let them know we're still alive?"

Nico chuckled, "They'll know because we're not on the news." Then, at a glare from Hazel, he relented, "Fine. Where's the phone?"

"In the lounge room, right next to the couch where you're sleeping."

-o-

Hazel woke up to the sound of harsh coughing. Her groggy mind pondered this for a moment or so, but in the time that it took her to wake up the coughs had turned into retching sounds and her keen ears picked up the unwelcome sound of stomach contents splashing into the toilet bowl.

She pushed the blankets off and shivered in the cold night air for a moment. But then sighed and got up, cursing her kindness and the thinness of the walls. She picked up a stray jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders.

When Hazel approached the bathroom, she found that the source of all the commotion was Nico vomiting into the toilet bowl. She huffed in annoyance, but still placed a hand on his back.

"Are you alright?"

Nico flinched at her sudden appearance, but the alarm wore off as he groaned and leaned forwards to throw up again.

When he finished, he glared at her, "This is all your fault. I told you that pizza wasn't edible. Now I think I've got food poisoning."

Hazel couldn't be mad at someone that in the process of coughing their innards out. She rubbed his back reassuringly. "Don't be silly, you don't have food poisoning. You're just not used to the oily food. The food of us peasants have to eat is hard to digest."

Nico made to reply but had to lurch back to use the toilet bowl.

Hazel gagged at the smell hit her. He was throwing up quite violently. Maybe he did get some food poisoning? But then she shook her heard. She wasn't going to play his game.

"You really do have a sensitive stomach, don't you?"

Her brother leaned against the wall and wiped his mouth with a piece of toilet paper. "I didn't used to, I think. Ah, how the mighty have fallen."

Indeed, in the pale light of the bathroom, Nico didn't look well. From clammy skin to shallow breathes and a decent amount of shivering, Hazel figured he was either dying or being very dramatic. Probably the latter.

When the spewing stopped completely, Hazel helped him lie back down on the couch and pressed a hand to his forehead.

"Well, you don't have a fever. So…"

"Are you sure?" Nico pressed.

Hazel flicked his head with a finger, "You just want to die and blame me for it, right?"

For some reason, it just seemed right to make a joke at this time.

Her brother sank into the couch, "It'd be ironic if a bunch of assassins failed and I died from eating pizza, eh?"

That got a laugh out of them both.

Hazel glanced at the clock hanging on the wall, "It's past three. Get some sleep, you'll feel better in the morning."

Nico suddenly smiled at her. A genuine smile that seemed to brighten up the whole room. For a moment he looked younger and kinder. It was amazing how much something so small could change a person.

"Thanks, Hazel."

-o-

 **If you leave a comment and favourite, I thank you in advance. Be sure to follow as well!**


	8. Dangerous Doorknocks

**AN: Hello dear readers, I've tried to make up for the lack of any kick-ass action in this chapter with length. We shall see how to works out in your feedback! Thanks once again to those that reviewed, favourited or send me PM's. I really appreciate the support. As I've said before, this story has been a brain child of mine ever since the series ended and I started reading some brilliant AU stories here.**

 **Anyhow, enjoy!**

-o-

Time passes slow when you have something to hide.

As some philosopher once said, 'the greater the secret, the slower time feels'. For the whole school day, Hazel had to force her mouth shut just so that she didn't blurt out what happened to her over the weekend. Adding on to that, most of the school was still shut down after the shooting last week. Two students had been seriously wounded, but they were going to make full recoveries. After all, they weren't the targets- just unfortunately caught in the crossfire.

Hazel couldn't believe how close she had come to becoming a casualty.

It was probably foolish to come back to school, but she didn't want to raise too much suspicion by not turning up. Also, when Frank had come to pick up Nico from Gran's place, he had made sure to tell her to there were double the number of guards watching the school now- not that she knew there were guards before. Reyna also turned up, once again looking like a school girl, carelessly chewing gum in the corridor. School was only a half day today, and it had started off with an assembly where the district police inspector came to reassure the students that such an incident won't happen again.

Hazel had to stop herself snorting in disbelief during the inspector's speech. The woman had used the typical calming and relaxed phrases like 'a shock', 'surprising incident' and 'disaster was averted'. The language of those too far up in the world to care about the people drowning below them. Strangely, she found herself admiring Nico, who grew up with a father as rich as a god, but still wasn't completely lifted off the ground by the stick up his arse.

After assembly and then a few random classes where no one paid attention, they were finally allowed to call it a day and go home. No one's heart was in education around here anyways, so the teachers were happy to give themselves the rest of the day off too.

Hazel pushed past the hordes of her peers, with Reyna following silently, and came to a standstill at the front gate. There was a glossy black jeep parked amongst the ragtag of battered Nissans, scratched Fords and fifth hand Toyotas. She wanted to slap the person who thought it was smart to drive that car around this neighbourhood- and she had a hunch who it might be.

She headed towards it.

Reyna was still following her. But it seemed awkward to chat to her, and so she kept silent, as she had for the whole day. It was weird to find out that your best friend for years was a hired bodyguard. It cast everything in a strange light.

A window rolled down when they got close enough and Nico stuck his head out of it. "Hello. Ready to go for a ride?" Her brother was sporting a pair of reflective sunglasses that was meant to look cool, but Hazel privately thought that he looked like an overlarge fly.

"What are you doing here? Why are you picking me up? Where's Frank?" She hissed. "I thought Uncle Poseidon decided that we had to be with at least one security person at all times, after that incident."

Frank poked his head out from the backseat. "Hello!"

Hazel started, "Ah! Frank? Why are you not driving?"

Nico grinned, "Because I'm in a good mood, so he gets the afternoon off. He still has to follow us around though." He caught Reyna's eye, and something unspoken passed between them. "I think one security detail will be enough for the afternoon, don't you, Reyna?"

Hazel glanced at Reyna curiously. There seemed to be some secret that she wasn't in on. Her friend, on the other hand, nodded in agreement. "Alright, enjoy your afternoon then. I'm clocking off."

It felt bad, knowing that Reyna saw hanging out with her as a job. Well, it was a job. But it still didn't sit well with her. She clambered into the front of the Jeep. "So where are we going? And why are you in such a good mood?"

Nico pulled out of the parking spot, glancing left and right as he inched forwards to the school gate. "I went to see the family doctor today. Got some blood tests and stuff. Apparently, I'm not dying, as we all thought."

"I never thought you were dying!" Hazel laughed with a headshake, "Did you think he was dying, Frank?"

The bodyguard jerked out of his daydream guilty, "Of course not! So, the doctor didn't find anything wrong with you?"

Nico nodded, "Nothing out of the ordinary. Possibly over stressed. Could have something to do with nearly getting murdered twice in a week." He laughed suddenly, and Hazel wondering if he should have seen a psychiatrist instead.

After last night, they had grown closer. Hazel thought that Nico deserved credit for saving her life, and for being genuinely regretful and guilty that nothing had been done to alleviate their poverty. But she didn't blame him, or their father.

In fact, assuming the phrase 'like father, like son' was true, there must have been something commendable in their father also. Perhaps some sort of kindness concealed beneath a cold and calculating businessman exterior. She wanted to know more about Hades, but a hunch told her that asking Nico would end badly. Her brother was oddly detached from their father, he hadn't even been severely affected by his death as far as she could tell.

Hades seemed one-dimensional in Nico's mind, and as much as he craved attention from his father, he also resented and feared it. Over the years, this mental tug-of-war had left him swinging between unsurmountable egotism and unpredictable mood swings, evident in their brief few days of interaction. Hazel couldn't help but look at him and wonder if she should be thankful that she never got involved in this side of her parentage.

She changed the topic as the car surged forwards onto the main street. The seatbelt bit into her collarbone. The engine purred beneath them. "Where are we going? I'm not getting kidnapped, am I?"

Nico grinned, "Of course not. Since we had such a great time yesterday, I thought it was my turn to invite you to dinner. Though, we have to pick up some stuff first."

-o-

These kinds of shops were the ones that she would have avoided in her old life, with her old identity. It wasn't Gucci or Prada, in fact, it wasn't even on the same street as them. Nico had driven right past some of the most expensive luxury brands in the world without a second glance. They had parked near Broome St and walked through a maze of laneways that she wouldn't have braved alone.

When they came to the door, she had looked up at the sign that said 'Loop', with the two O's replaced by an infinity sign, and thought they had come to the wrong place and ended up at some tacky nightclub. But Nico opened the door after a moment of hesitance and she reluctantly followed.

To her surprise, it was a small shop. A small clothing shop.

These small boutiques where there were only three customers at any given time made her feel inferior. If she ever walked through the door of one of these places, immediately she'd be flagged by the shop assistants. They would always be polite- their pay checks depended on it, but their eyes mocked her.

 _You don't belong_ , they seemed to be saying, _I would like to see you try to afford something here._ Now that she was able to afford things here, and her brother and their bodyguard were literally right there to back her up, she felt bold and almost vengeful.

She wanted to do something rash. She wanted to show off to those stuck up assistants- buy up half the shop or something. But then she checked herself. This wasn't who she was, and if her mother was here she would be ashamed. She decided that this was a good way to maintain her integrity. If my mother would smack me over the head for _it_ , then I shouldn't do _it_.

Not to mention, she wasn't sure how to go about buying up half the store anyways.

Frank had stationed himself behind her and was silent. His eyes were covered by shades. Nico stopped casually flicking at a lacy lavender dress as a store attendant approached them. She puckered her lips at them and smiled at Nico in particular. Her smile felt a bit forced when it came to her, but it was still considered in the friendly category.

"Good afternoon, sir. Madam. Are we looking at anything in particular today?"

Nico glanced around the store and shrugged. "This is my sister. She's visiting, and quite unfamiliar with your store. It was be fantastic if you could pick out a few sets of clothes suitable for a dinner."

Hazel thought that the store person was going to query him further. But perhaps she had a way of smelling out rich people. She simple smiled and nodded. Nico held out a credit card and waved away Hazel's protests. "It's on me. And if you can get the job done in the next hour, I'll double my tip."

The assistant took the card eagerly. Her smile, when she turned to Hazel, was now warm and friendly. "Of course. Consider it done. Madam? If you would follow me?"

She was whisked away into the back, where they apparently kept all the 'good' items. Another assistant had joined them, determined to give her a semi-makeover in the length of one hour to score that delicious tip.

Now that she was a treasured customer, the assistants took turns propping up articles of clothing under her chin and muttering both to her and themselves. "You'd look wonderful in this skirt!" "Oh, the bottom looks better gathered for her, don't you think, Martha?" "You have such a fine neck, we must complement it with a scarf. This is the finest of Chinese silk."

She felt like she was a doll in the process of being played with. They put a few articles aside for her to try on, and when she looked at them nervously as she unbuttoned her school shirt, they just tutted and left her alone. She put on what they'd found her, a dark blue blouse with flared sleeves, and a black pencil skirt. A small silver arrow necklace completed the look.

She looked at herself in the mirror. Even with the quick makeup that they'd done as they bustled around her, she could barely recognise herself. She looked amazing. The clothes fitted her perfectly. She didn't know how they had done it, but they certainly deserved that tip.

A knock. "Can I come in?" Frank's voice called out, "Nico told me to check on how they were going?"

She quickly stepped into the heels that they'd left on the ground next to her. Perfect fit, once again. "Ah, yeah! Come in!"

Frank opened the door and shuffled in cautiously, looking confused and nervous around the trolleys of women's clothing in the store. It must have been hard to navigate through here if you had the stature of a small bear. "Wow, this place is a bit packed…" He muttered as his tie caught on a clothes rack. He glanced up at her with a sheepish grin and then started in surprise. "Wow, um. You look so much better! I mean, you normally look good. You look even better now! But I like you before. Not _like_ like, but just as a person." His face was flushed, "I think I'll just stop talking now."

Frank looked cute standing there, his tie still suspended in mid-air by the shelf. Hazel giggled, and then caught herself. Since when did she giggle? She coughed awkwardly to fill the sudden silence. "Don't worry, Frank. I get what you mean- thanks."

Frank jerked his tie from the hook and scratched his head awkwardly. "Sorry, I just get tongue tied around girls. Especially pretty girls." He glanced around quickly, "Don't tell your brother I said that, he'll get overprotective."

Hazel smiled at him, "I'm sure he'll let it go. What's so bad about dating a security guard? At least I'll be safe, right?"

Frank grinned sheepishly, "Yeah. Now that I think about it, I'm sure he'll be fine with it. Especially since-" He snapped his mouth shut. "Forget I said anything. Let's go back."

Hazel felt there were too many secrets in this family, "What were you going to say?" Seeing that Frank wasn't meeting her eyes, she huffed and stalked past him. "Fine. Keep your secrets then."

"It's just not my secret to tell. I mean, there's no secret. What are you talking about?" Frank said behind her, they re-entered the store front. "Wait, Hazel! What's that on your neck?"

Nico was there, hands tucked into his pockets. He glanced up from his shiny oxfords at their words, "What's wrong with her neck?" He scrutinised her.

"There's nothing wrong with my neck, Frank was just- Nico, are you alright?"

Her brother's face had turned ashen, and he stood rock still as through he had suddenly been turned into marble. Hazel reached out to touch his arm, but he stepped back as though her touch would burn. He had been staring intently at her neck before, but now he dropped his gaze and didn't meet her eyes. "Sorry, I'm fine. I just- You look nice. Um, I'll wait in the car."

Frank stepped up next to him, "Sorry, Nico. I didn't realise. I should have noticed."

"What's going on?" She blurted out. "What's wrong with you guys?"

Nico looked her way cautiously. He reached a hand out slowly, and for a moment she thought he was going to grab her in madness. But he only gently pinched her necklace between thumb and forefinger. There was a strange expression on his face when he scrutinised it, as if he was somewhere else, in another time.

"You look amazing," he smiled at her carefully, "I like the necklace. You look good with it. We'll grab whatever else they recommended too."

The way he said ' _it'_ made her suspicious. She didn't know how to put her confusion into words.

Her brother nodded and turned around to leave. Frank went to follow, but Hazel caught his elbow. "What about paying? And tipping?"

Frank laughed, "Don't worry about that. If Nico didn't pay them a tip, we wouldn't be allowed to leave."

But she wasn't done yet. "What was that about? Why do I always feel there are things around here that are being kept from me? That I don't know about?"

Frank pushed open the door for her, "Give him time. You know people- they're complicated. There are some doors that shouldn't be forced open."

-o-

"I don't know how to start."

Nico paused in the middle of snapping a craw off the aggressively shelled crab that he had just dragged onto his plate. "You just do the claws and then the shell."

But when she still had the confused look on her face, her brother sighed and snapped off the crab leg before handing it to her. Apparently, this restaurant was known for its seafood selection. That meant lobsters, crabs and fish so big that Hazel thought if it opened its mouth wide enough, she could be engulfed by it.

The moment that they sat down in a darkened table near the back, a waiter in a blue and white checked shirt had come over. He handed them a menu and in a respectful tone advertised their speciality. "What would we like to start with, Sir? Madam?"

Hazel thought it was strange that rich people ate dinner in so many courses. What was she even supposed to say? Were they asking for her to pick an entrée? Nico thought for a moment, "Godfather?"

"Is bourbon alright?"

Nico nodded in response. Hazel was stunned, she understood that it was some sort of drink order. What strange ways these people talked! But then she realised the waiter was looking at her now. "Um, lemonade?"

The waiter didn't even hesitate. "Of course. And may I direct Madam to our prime caviar selection, we have the black pearl Siberian oscietra or ars italica Russian oscietra. All served with crème fraiche, chives and blinis."

"Um…" _What was a 'blinis'?_

And so, they ended up getting two seafood platters. Which were amazing, Hazel had to admit, as she relished the smooth crab meat she currently had in her mouth. She hoped her sounds of enthusiastic approval weren't disturbing any of the other patrons. She took a sip of her lemonade and was surprised when it wasn't the sugary kind that she was used to. "Wow, what is this? Nico? Hello? Earth to Nico?"

Nico flinched as he snapped back to the real world. "Huh, what? Yes."

"I asked you an open-ended question." She noticed that his gaze was on her necklace again, she pinched it between her fingers. "Alright. What's the story with this? Dude, you need to stop staring at my chest. People will think it's indecent."

Her brother frowned, "That's a strange thought. That necklace… my sister had one. She used to wear it all the time, she said it gave her good luck. She bought it at that store too. Time goes by so quickly and I had forgotten about it, but when I saw you wearing it, I was just surprised… for a moment."

She watched his hands fidget nervously and observed the crab juice running down the side of his left hand before dripping on to the table. She thought his reaction at the store was more terror than surprise, but she didn't press him any further. As Frank had noted, some doors shouldn't be forced open.

"And you took me shopping at a store that Bianca used to go to?"

Nico gave an embarrassed shrugged, "s' not like I know any other mediocre women's clothing stores. And I couldn't google it, because I don't carry an electronic device with which to access the internet."

"Why don't you have a mobile phone? You're certainly rich enough to afford one." It seemed unimaginable that someone as wealthy as Nico didn't carry a mobile on his person.

Nico shook his head, "They're all traceable. I use voice calls on phones and then discard them after a while, but only in safe locations. Outside is not a safe location. It's just the price of being who I am." He chuckled, "Anyways, anyone who needs to reach me goes through our family's army of secretaries."

"And you trust them with your private business?"

Her brother looked at her, with a scrutinising glance that conveyed a tingle of suspicion. It seemed that he was read some meaning out of that phrase which she had no intended. Perhaps he was just curious about her sudden interesting in his life. Then he relaxed and laughed. "What _private_ business could I have? The media knows more about my life than I do, and there's always Melinoe to remind me if I miss anything."

"Who's her?" The name sounded feminine.

Nico tapped his fingers on the velvety tablecloth as he was playing piano, "Our father's head secretary. Now mine. That woman knows everything there is to know about our family and our businesses."

"Sounds like a remarkable woman."

"Actually, she's a nasty piece of work. She's only loyal to whoever that can give her the best deal, or the most benefits. But that suits us, because we always can trump her other offers. She's devoted to our family as long as it benefits her."

"That's the type of person we employ?"

Her brother shrugged. He sighed, "Eat your food. I'm hungry, but I can't start eating until you've emptied your plate and I can put more opened crabs there for you."

"You're always hungry, just be patient." Hazel looked around at the dimly lit restaurant. Little Manhattan, it was called. The name seemed ironic. Manhattan wasn't small, but it certainly made you feel small. All the buildings imposing their shadows on you, and the eternal rush of traffic that stopped for no one. Even the Queen would feel small if she was here, standing like a nobody in the middle of Broadway, clutching her handbag in both hands.

"Does Melinoe know about our father's criminal activities?"

"Can you speak slightly louder please? I think the table on the other side of the room didn't hear you that clearly." Nico deadpanned, wiping his hands on a napkin. An opened crab was in her plate now, steam rising from the juicy white meat.

"…" Hazel still felt like slapping him. She gave him a firm glare that said _I don't appreciate that_.

Nico winced, whether from emotional or physical pain, she didn't know. He gripped the table, closed his eyes and exhaled slowly.

"What are you doing?"

"Breathing slowly, just like the doctor ordered." Nico relaxed cautiously after a few more breathes. "It's fine. I'm fine. Everything's fine. What was the question?"

"Who else knows about our father's activities?"

"Everyone, apparently." Nico's brow creased, "It seems that like most of the household staff know about all the shenanigans that our father was up to. But not me, his son. I was away at school most of the time, across the ocean in Europe, fed with some blown up lie that if I could make him proud then everything would be alright."

She thought that it was ironic that she had so often wished that her mother had more time for her, or at least placed her a bit higher on the priority list and thought that all their troubles could be resolved if they had just been rich. And here was Nico, born into a family richer than she could have ever imagined, yet still facing the same feeling of abandonment that she had to endure.

Their father, who was the king of the New York underworld and owner of a real estate empire, had played an equally large role in messing up both their lives. She wanted to laugh. Laugh bitterly, that was.

"Target has good clothing, you know?" Hazel couldn't help but blurt out.

Nico's eyebrows lifted in confusion, "Target, the department store?" No doubt he thought she was going crazy.

"Yes, it sells alright clothing. You may not believe me, but… it does."

Her brother opened his mouth to say something and then closed it. He glanced at her hesitantly. "Why don't you show me sometime?"

-o-

 **AN: And that's it for now, folks! I've dropped some interesting information in this seemingly boring chapter, perhaps. I hope you enjoyed. Leave me a fav and a review if you've got a few seconds!**

 **Cheers, H.**


	9. Curiosity of the Cat

**AN: Warning, this chapter contains mild M-rated material of a sexual nature! That warning goes for future chapters as well. Thanks for all your support and followings! Hope this chapter lives up to your expectations. A little surprise for you all at the end too.**

 **H.**

-o-

So, it continued, these strange afterschool hangout sessions.

Nico would pick her up and then take her to some restaurant or order her whatever food she wanted. She appreciated the time they spent together, and she liked how these gatherings gave her a chance to talk to Frank. Nico's bear-like bodyguard was always hanging around somewhere, eating an ice cream as he tried to blend in with the pigeons on the pavement. He was never an annoyance and was always pleasing to be with. Not to mention, pleasing to the eyes. Or, at least, her eyes.

Nico didn't seem to be too fond of being surveilled all the time, but he just accepted that it came with part of who he was. When Hazel had jokingly asked Frank how close he was with Nico as they stood in a line at McDonald's, the Asian boy blanched and laughed nervously.

"I wouldn't say we're close, Hazel. It's not like we're _friends_." He laughed, "I mean, I know everything about your brother; what he eats, whom he speaks to, for goodness sakes. I even know when he's constipated."

"And how do you know that?" Hazel laughed despite the absurdity of the situation.

"Generally, I can hear him cursing inside the bathroom."

She would forever remember the confused expression on her brother's face as he came back with their order and found the two of them cackling like witches.

In summary, Frank was a joy to be with.

Eventually Hazel came to the startling realisation that she enjoyed the time she spent with her brother as well. Despite those moments of random craziness and the confusing jargon of wealthy people, she found his little quirks endearing.

The rare smiles that he allowed himself to show, the way that he was insistent on dressing as well as possible, right down to every button being aligned on his shirt. And even if it was an oversized hoodie that she'd made him reluctantly buy from a second-hand store, he still insisted on wearing it as properly as possible.

"There are animal hairs on this", he said with disdain and picked at them, "Maybe I'm wearing some old lady's clothing. Some lady whose bones are becoming dust underground. What have you turned me into?"

She laughed and pointed out that old cat ladies didn't wear black hoodies with the slogan ROCK ON ACDC on the front. In those moments, the distance between them, marked by upbringing and social values, seemed to vanish. In those few moments, she felt that they were both deeply human, connecting with each other so innocently that it achieved what a serious conversation could never achieve.

She found it hilarious that he had a paranoid fear of too much human interaction. Coffee shops made him break into nervous sweat, and shopping centres were basically hell for Nico. It didn't really make sense, considering who their father was and how he'd built his business empire. Or maybe it explained a lot.

Her only regret was that she and Reyna had never fully reconnected after the latter saved her life in that shooting. Their interactions seemed forced, and when they had to speak to each other, either at school or at the penthouse that she spent an increasingly huge amount of time at, the conversations were brief and meaningless.

You gain some, you lose some. Hazel told herself. Yet, it felt like a massive loss. Somewhere, deep down, Hazel felt that Reyna was going to play a major part in her life in the very near future. She promised herself that they would reconnect as soon as possible.

-o-

"You realise that The Phantom of the Opera was essentially a story about a masked cosplay wannabe creeping on an unsuspecting girl, don't you?"

Nico rubbed his brow in frustration as he shifted around on the grey sofa. "I- I have no reply to that. You should be a professional critic, Hazel. I mean it. You can turn any classic into trash. I'm sure we could get you into the industry. And, we're never going to any theatres ever again."

"Do people have that as a profession- criticising musicals? Do they make money?"

"What do you mean- 'as a profession'? There's a whole industry dedicated to it. It's called Hollywood and I could drive you over to Broadway to sample it right this moment."

Hazel rolled over on the bed, "Talking of being critical. I think your room could do with a makeover. All this grey is depressing. Your bed is an ocean of grey, all your furniture is either grey or black. For goodness sakes, the only things that are not grey or black are the drapes- and they're dark brown."

It wasn't so bad now that the drapes were all open, and she could see the skyline and the wide unfenced balcony that Nico never seemed to use. Probably because it was too dangerous; it didn't even have a railing. No one would go there unless they had a death wish. She couldn't imagine what the room felt like to sleep in. Empty and cold, no doubt. How did Nico stand it?

When there was no reply, Hazel raised her head and looked across the gigantic bedroom towards her brother. The modern and minimalistic fireplace, though unlit, reflected the afternoon sun and almost blinded her. "Argh, hey! Are you even listening?"

Her brother jolted out of his trance. "Sorry. Ah, I can't seem to focus today. What did you say?"

"What's wrong?" It had been three weeks since he had consulted the doctor who reassured him that everything was in order. But, since then, most of the physical symptoms that he had demonstrated in her presence before were persisting. Adding to that, recently, Nico had developed this weird habit of zoning out of conversations.

"Nothing is wrong. I just didn't get much sleep last night. I woke up from a weird dream that I couldn't even remember and then just didn't go back to sleep again."

She was about to probe more into the issue when there was a loud knock at the door.

"Come in!"

One side of the double doors swung open on its well-oiled edges without a sound. Their portly uncle strode in, followed by his son, Triton. Both of them were grinning as if they had just come from a particularly enjoyable conversation.

"Dear children! Good afternoon!"

"Wow, Uncle. What's got you so excited?"

"Why, we've just come from this fantastic restaurant near the harbour. We went to check on some cargo, but it took longer than expected. So instead of rushing back to lunch here, we visited this little fisherman's shack nearby. Such fresh mussels! When you bite into them, the freshness just oozes out-"

Nico looked a bit nauseous from the description, and Hazel couldn't blame him. Ooze did seem like a strange word choice there. "Where's Frank? Isn't he meant to be outside the door?"

Triton rolled his eyes, "He's probably hanging around somewhere. He's under no obligation to actually follow you around whilst you're in the house. And honestly, why would he? He gets paid the same when he's taking a nap compared to when he's standing at attention outside. As long as Nico is in this apartment."

Her brother rolled his eyes. He frowned at Poseidon. "Uncle, you seem to have a lot of free time these days, still able to galivant to seafood shacks between those board meetings."

Poseidon perched on the other side of the couch. His potbelly stuck out under his Hawaiian shirt, "Well, you know... The presence of one of us there is only a formality these days. My brother did well to choose effective and loyal executive managers to work for him. I'm not there to micromanage, just hanging around at the head of the table slurping cocktails really."

"Ha," Nico snorted derisively, "And they still decided that I was unfit for the role. Mentally unfit. They say they don't want a boy stepping into a man's job. But children much younger than me can do that role. It's a figurehead, goddammit."

"Nico-"

Her brother huffed angrily, "Triton, how old were you when your father let you so some serious work? Like 16? 15?"

Poseidon's brows fell like thunderclouds, "Nephew, listen here. You know as well as I do that those two things are very different. Triton was helping on board a ship full of containers. He's not managing the livelihood of thousands of workers. You see all those people, stacked in this sandwich of a building? They depend on your father and the board."

Hazel sat straighter on the edge of the bed. She didn't know if she should interject. Triton gave her a look that said 'yeesh' and closed the door behind them. You never know when there were people listening in this massive apartment.

Hazel tried to play peacemaker, "Uncle Poseidon, what are you doing here?"

The bearded man rubbed his chin wearily, "Nico, I have actually come to talk to you guys about important business. But with this foul mood in the room... I wonder if I should proceed. Nico, you really don't make it easy."

There was a pregnant pause. The young man let out a breath, "I'm sorry. Please tell me what the news is."

"Well. I wouldn't say it's really 'news' per say. It's certainly not unexpected, but not necessarily expected either." Triton shuffled over to lean on the wall near the fireplace, his oxfords soundless against the carpet. "The company executives have strongly recommended that you choose an heir, Nico. It's just a precaution. And because you don't have children. It'll probably be someone of legal age who is close to you."

Nico laughed loudly, "What are they planning, those bastards? What are they expecting? That I'm going to decide to take a swan-dive off that unrailed balcony in a whim and leave the leadership of the corporation to be decided by gladiatorial contest?"

Hazel went to say, "No, and stop being so sarcastic." But at the same time, Triton exclaimed, "Why isn't the balcony railed?", leading to a cacophony of sounds.

Nico waved away his cousin's concerns even as the latter peered outside worriedly, "It's fine. Just use your god given motor coordination skills. Unless it's raining, then just don't go outside because that marble is as slippery as hell."

"Gee, thanks for warning me. You know, there's too many damned marble floors in this house." Triton grinned at her, "And my current shoes, the soles are so worn I've come quite close to breaking my neck several times on the stairs."

Poseidon interjected with a hand wave, "Stop talking about irrelevant matters. Nico, the board wants you to choose an heir. I will get the Fury sisters to draft up a statement, then you and I can sign it. It will be purely a precautionary measure, of course. But it will provide the board with reassurance."

"What do you mean, and then 'you and I can sign it'?" Nico chuckled, "Who said that it'll be you, Uncle?"

Poseidon blanched, and Triton stumbled in the process of heading to the door. "What do you mean? Who else would you trust with the company?"

Nico grinned as he waved a hand in dismissal, "I'll think about it."

Their uncle started towards him angrily, "Nephew, listen to me. Now is not the time to have some paranoid delusion that there would be anyone else who would care as much about our family's business than me. Not to mention, more qualified than me! I worked with your father long before you and your sisters were born. I helped him build everything he had."

The young man stood up, "You worked with my father? To build that drug cartel? To ship weapons illegally and provide them to warring gangs? He had blood on his hands. Basically dripping off his hands, and you helped put it there. If there's one thing that my father taught me, it was to trust nobody else. Not your wife, not your father, and certainly not your uncle!"

Triton stepped in, "Don't go too far, Nico. God knows where you would be if it wasn't for my father. You don't have to love him, gods forbid, or even trust him. Excuse me, father." Triton waved his arms in frustration, "But surely you see him as the best option for taking over the family business if something were to happen to you that meant you couldn't handle it anymore."

Nico stood and walked over to sit on his bed, brushing past a surprised Hazel. "Maybe that will persuade the board that nothing should happen to me. There's sure to be a major legal battle about leadership if that happened. So, it's in their best interests that it doesn't happen."

Poseidon shook his head, "My boy, I hope you can change your mind. You can't always get what you want in this world."

-o-

Hazel had dinner by herself that night. Frank was away, visiting his grandmother on one of his rare weekend breaks, and Triton and Poseidon had returned to wherever it was that they spent their nights. She had sent a quizzical glance Nico's way when the bell rang for dinner, but he had just smiled tiredly and told her to go by herself, "I'm not that hungry, Haz. Just go by yourself, the maids will look out for you."

"That's not the point. You need to eat as well, have you even eaten at all today?"

"Yeah. I had crisps at the theatre. It's amazing how big of a junk food selection you can find at the opera."

Hazel sighed. Nico seemed to be in one of those evasive moods, where he defected serious questions by trying to alter the topic every time a branching statement was made. "What are you going to do about the thing that Uncle Poseidon mentioned? Are you really going to do nothing? It sounds serious."

Her brother leaned back in the grey armchair in the farthest corner of his room and sighed. "I don't know, I'll think about it."

Later that night, after saying goodnight to the bright lights of the city and drawing the heavy drapes, Hazel went to shut her door. She had to be rested for school tomorrow. But as she was about to push close the tiny slit between the door edge and frame, a black shadow shifted past in the semi-darkened hallways.

That was strange. The maids probably wouldn't be up so late, and security didn't stay around upstairs after 10 pm. Giving the clock hanging on the wall a quick glance, Hazel confirmed that it was definitely past that time, it was nearly midnight.

So who would be walking around this late? She listened to the soft footsteps as they moved upstairs. Her room was right near the stairs, so she could tell how the individual deliberately tried to soften their footfalls.

Terrible thoughts went through her mind. Was it an assassin, here to murder them? Taking advantage of the cover of night to make a move?

After all, Nico's room was on the floor above, second to the stairs. Was he being strangled to death without a sound even as she hesitated here, wondering about whether she should follow the mysterious figure or not?

"Damn my curiosity," Hazel muttered slowly to herself, as she silently moved out into the hallway. It wasn't as dark as she had thought outside, but she still stumbled on the stairs. Gods, it wouldn't help anyone if she broke her own neck and it turned out that the person had just been some maid here to do some midnight chores. Or maybe the maid was just going to put in a few hours at the gym.

Unlikely. And Frank had told her that the staff had plenty of perks downstairs in their own living spaces. She mentally listed what could possibly be attractive to someone upstairs. The food areas were on the first and second floors. The library and Hades' old office (now just referred to as the study) was also on the second floor, near the library. If anyone was here to steal information, he or she certainly wouldn't be heading to the fourth floor, there were only two bedrooms, a sitting area and a gym that probably only Frank used when he was bored. So they had to be there for Nico.

But why? And who were they?

She stepped up on to the landing and was surprised to hear calm voices murmuring from her brother's room. She shrugged. It seemed that the visitor was expected, and wanted. She went to move forwards but then thought that it would be extremely impolite to violate her brother's privacy like this. He was a grown man, and there were things that he probably did which she didn't want to know about.

But then, she heard a voice that she would easily recognise in a crowd.

Reyna.

"-heard the board wants you to get an heir?"

"You make it sound that I'm just going to plant one and then nurture it until it grows into a big healthy heir?"

Hazel pressed one eye to the crack of the slightly open door. her heart was thudding so loud that she felt the occupants of the room would hear her. But that was just fanciful thinking. The room was dimmed lit with the orange flames of the fireplace, but still much brighter than the corridor outside. They wouldn't think of looking for her, and even if they did, she doubted that they could see her.

"And how does information travel so fast to you guys? Is Frank hiding cameras in my room?" Nico was seated on the silver couch. He grinned at Reyna, who leaned again the wall nearby, arms crossed. Hazel could see the ripple of muscles as she shrugged.

"You know that would be bad for both of us. If your father or god forbid, even Thanatos, found out that you-"

"Can you please not put that into words. It still sounds strange after these few years."

Reyna gestured in annoyance, making that huffing sound that Hazel knew so well. "You never own up to your feelings, Nico. You'd rather repress them deep inside until you're basically exploding with them. It was that way with your father, and you're every bit like him. What was with that dismissal you gave me the other day? Hazel came out of the car and you made a run for it like the devil was chasing you. Am I really that embarrassing?"

Hazel was confused. There seemed to be something important here that she wasn't understanding. Nico and Reyna were better friends than they had let on, by the sound of it.

Her brother pinched the bridge of his nose. "Reyna," he said, "Don't you understanding the strange position I've found myself in. She is my sister, and you are her best friend. It just feels wrong."

"I was her best friend before, and the relationship was more certain then. Sure, you didn't know her then. And you didn't know how close you would become. Maybe she won't like it. But you are a grown man, and you can make your own decisions."

"I know I love you both. I just... I don't know."

He loved them both?

"I think about you whenever I'm not with you. I want to be with you all the time. I'm certain of my feelings. I just don't know how to proceed with them."

"The deeper a feeling is, the more selfish it makes you. I know that's true. If Hazel's mother hadn't threatened Hades that he would never see his daughter again if he brought them into the spotlight, do you think he would have just let them be?"

Nico stood and moved slowly until he stood in front of Reyna. He caressed her left cheek with a gentle finger. "Please don't be angry. I would do anything to make you happy. Just tell me."

"Anything?" In the slow flickering orange of the room, her best friend looked coy.

Their lips locked ferociously. They clung to each other for a moment, before Reyna slipped her hands from Nico's back and to the front of his pants. Hazel heard Nico moan before he slid his hands under Reyna's shirt, moving from the back to the front.

Hazel had to cover her mouth with her hands lest she made a sound of disgusted shock.

 _Who would have thought?_ She wondered in disbelief aa she tiptoed back down the stairs, trying to shake the image she had seen from her head. "I wonder who else knows about this."

-o-

 **Well… Well… Well….**

 **Don't forget to drop me a review about your thoughts!**


	10. Audacious Alcoholism

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the series PJO or HOO.**

 **AN:** **Warning of explicit sexual descriptions in this chapter. Please skip to after the first break if that's not your cup of tea.**

 **Anyhow, I hope everyone is excited for another chapter! The action in this story has just truly started now. I will try to update once every two weeks, but with uni starting soon we'll see how long I can keep up my promise. What are all your plans for 2019?**

 **I'm grateful for any favourites, follows or reviews!**

 **H.**

-o-

He gave one final thrust and the pressure at his groin was released. There was another rush of something and he shifted even deeper instinctively. Nico arched his back slowly and groaned as he was overcome by ecstasy. Beneath him, Reyna responded by lifting her hips in a sudden upward motion.

Between their slowly rocking motions, he looked down at her toned bare torso, half covered by long black hair, which draped over his pillows and would leave a sweet smell for the next few days to come. Her skin glistened with a fine sheen of sweat by the light of the softly crackling fireplace.

Nico has observed that her eyes were never open when they were together. He didn't know if it was because she was enjoying it all too much or was just too embarrassed to look him in the eye.

Something primal overcame him again and disrupted his thoughts. Nico's hips seemed to move of their own accord, thrusting forwards as another wave of euphoria overcame him. Reyna locked her legs around his hips and pulled him in.

They were angled strangely, but Reyna's entire body was trembling now, and he knew that she was close. He leaned down and nibbled at her neck. With a moan, Reyna shook with a series of spasms, shaking him too via their intimate physical connection.

When it was over Reyna unbuckled her legs from around him and Nico rolled over to lie down on the spacious bed next to her. For a few moments, he could barely breathe, and it felt like his heart was going to pop out of his chest as the rate that it was pumping.

He ignored the stabbing sensations in his chest and reached one hand out to catch Reyna's. But she pushed herself up into a sitting position and started to tie her hair.

"Stay with me?" He asked, even though he already knew what the answer was.

Reyna shook her head, "No. We shouldn't have even done that."

"You say that every time, and yet here we are."

The bodyguard stood up and started to pick up her clothes from the floor. "I'm serious this time. I've already told you that I've come to say goodbye. Before, when Hades was alive, this could all be considered some childish act of rebellion. But he's gone now, and it's up to you to act your age and start doing more work for the family. For his legacy."

Nico felt anger bubble inside him, but he was too tired to sit up and confront her. "I didn't choose to be his legacy, and you know as well as me that I've basically been excluded from all the affairs of his company."

Reyna was fully dressed now and looked up from strapping her weapon holster to her side.

"Then you have to fight for it. It's always up to you to actively participate. You've shied away from duty for far too long. Start off with naming your uncle as heir to show that you have some brains."

The bed was getting too big and cold for his liking, so Nico sat up slowly and nodded to placate her. "When will I see you again?"

"You literally see me every time you see Hazel."

"You know what I mean. How will I see you like this again?"

Reyna sighed as she headed for the door. "Nico, people like you and I are not meant to be together. I don't know when we'll see each other, maybe in a few weeks. Maybe never. At least not like this."

As the door shut behind her with a light thud, Nico fought back the forlornness that settled over him and pulled the covers up to his chin. The space next to him smelt like Reyna, but it was cold and empty.

He grimaced as his left side was attacked by a jolt of stabbing pain. He rolled over and tried to ignore the small voice at the back of his mind that whispered of wrongness. There aren't many people left in his life and another one had just abandoned him. This must be what they called heartbreak.

It was better to not think about it.

-o-

Monday mornings were always marked by a magnificent buffet breakfast. That was, even more so than usual- perhaps the cooks were trying to distract them all from another week of work. Hazel tucked into a pancake stack that was sided with ice cream, maple syrup and a small mountain of fresh berries that were trying their best to escape her plate.

She looked around at the unusually subdued occupants of the room. Since neither Poseidon or Triton were big on formalities, Reyna was eating beside her. They still had to go back to school and keep on pretences- or at least that's what Hazel wanted. She didn't want to be suddenly elevated to some private school where she would be even more out of place.

"These pancakes are pretty good. Do you want some?"

Reyna glanced at the empty doorway, "Nah, I'm alright." Her best friend was wearing their uniform and chewing gum thoughtfully. Hazel wondered if she was thinking about Nico. She bit her tongue to stop herself from asking. Not here- not in front of their uncle and cousin.

"I'm nearly done, by the way. So, we can get going pretty soon."

Poseidon pushed his now empty panna cotta plate away and grinned at her, but his smile didn't look as jolly as it usually did.

"Child, you don't have to hurry. We'll get someone to drop you two off, so you won't be late. Enjoy yourself whilst you still can."

It was a strange thing to say all of the sudden, Hazel felt. But she just nodded her head in agreement- one never knew what tomorrow would bring. "I think it's probably best if we just take the bus. Otherwise, you never know who might be watching and what they might think."

"Who cares what they think?" Triton piped up, "Are you afraid that their jealousy might be too much for you to handle?"

"I think there is a reason that my mom was so insistent that I stay out of the spotlight. And with what happened to my father, I think maybe that she might have been right."

Reyna bumped her lightly with one shoulder, "I'll make sure you don't get kidnapped."

Hazel nodded, grateful knowing that such reassurance was designed to placate Poseidon. She and Reyna had recovered their prior closeness over the last few weeks since she found out her true identity. At first, when Reyna had shed her familiar purple spiky earrings for a tailored suit, Hazel felt like her friend had morphed into someone different. But now she realised that Reyna was still the same person, and Hazel actually felt even more positively towards the friend that had not only kept her company over the years but also protected her life in the shadows.

Reyna was still the same person, kind and generous, humorous and sarcastic. She walked, talked and smiled that same. She just no longer had to hide her occupation and the skills that came with it. Hazel had to admit that it frightened her to know that Reyna could kill an enemy without batting an eye.

Aside from her relationship with Reyna, one other person that she had grown particularly close to was Frank. The bumbling and slightly awkward Asian guy made her heart flutter in a way that no boy had ever made it before. Whenever there was free time she found herself seeking him out, and vice versa when he was taking a break.

One day, as they waited for Nico to come to the car, Frank had told her about his family.

 _There isn't really anyone left, my parents were both soldiers and they died whilst on a campaign when I was quite young._ Frank looked sad. _All I have is my grandmother- she's my only surviving family._

"Well, everyone is here." A mildly amused voice interrupted her thoughts.

She turned around and saw her brother, immaculately dressed as always- he had chosen a grey coloured shirt with black pants today. Nico took a swig from the whiskey bottle he held in one hand and surveyed the room. Hazel felt dangerous energy emitting from him, and the silence in the room built as the other occupants felt it too.

Frank shuffled in after Nico, wringing his hands and looking perplexed. No doubt he wanted to regain control over the alcohol supply for Nico's own safety.

Nico walked over to her and gripped one of her shoulders with one shaking hand. Hazel felt what she thought was a friendly squeeze turn into a painful twist. "Stop, you're hurting me!" She struggled out of the grip and stood to face him, "What's gotten into you?"

Her brother ignored her questioning and stared daggers at Poseidon instead. "Uncle," he said, "I was wrong. I have decided to name an heir after all."

Immediately the tension in the room melted. Triton's face broke out into a smile and Frank stopped his shuffling near the door. Hazel felt the tension go out of Reyna next to her and their uncle gave a booming laugh.

She placed a hand on Nico's forearm encouragingly.

"Hazel." He said with a tone of finality.

"Huh?" She waited for him to tell her whatever he had directed her attention for.

"It's going to be Hazel. My sister. Now, my lawful heir."

And the room descended into chaos.

-o-

"How could you be so stupid?" Hazel forced herself to not shout as she paced around her brother's room. The target of her very justified anger was sitting calmly on the grey couch. She, on the other hand, wanted to kick something- or someone. "I know absolutely nothing about business. Zero. Nothing! How could you have named me your heir? I would run this company into the ground- it's like…"

She struggled for an example, "Nominating a blind person to be the designated driver."

Nico sighed, "I'm not going to just suddenly die and leave you everything our father had. It was just a signal to the member of the board that I won't be cowed into submission. They wanted my heir to be a real adult who they could talk money-making nonsense into. Now they know that if anything were to happen to me, they would have to deal with someone with absolutely no experience in business and even less suited to the position than me."

Hazel was fuming. She ignored the hurt those words caused her. "Have you thought about how selfish that was of you? Your father, no- our father built this empire that you're willing to throw it away because the board of directors make a perfectly normal request that a stupid boy shouldn't be left alone to manage affairs?"

Nico glared daggers at her, "Stupid boy? Who are you calling stupid?"

"You've been cushioned by our father's money all your life. Earning and making a living is hard. Is it so bad for the executives of the company to be trying to keep the company alive?"

"Keeping the company alive?" Nico snorted derisively, "They're watching out for their own wallets. This company was built with blood money- people like your mother who were scammed into throwing their lives away and diving head first into the pile of addicts that my father and uncle fed on."

There were some lines that shouldn't be crossed. And talking about her mother in such a dismissive way was one of them.

"Don't talk about her like that." A sense of déjà vu flashed through her mind- they had had a similar argument just a few weeks ago. It made her feel like the progress they had made in their relationship was unravelling. "She might have been an addict, but she was a good mother. What do you know about good parenting?"

Nico stood up suddenly and stalked towards her, and for a moment she thought he was going to strike her in anger. But he paused and looked directly into her eyes.

"Good parenting, huh? You know why I never had good parenting? Because my father was a drug dealer and my mother was murdered before I could even form coherent memories of her. That's what money buys you- misery and grief."

"I don't want his legacy. I don't want the life I have now. And I don't need you to tell me what is right and what is wrong."

"I know, Nico. You've never needed me. I'm the half-sister that you turn to when you think about the concept of family. The half-sister that you cast out the moment she tells you the truth."

Hazel turned and stalked towards the door. "Goodbye. You won't see me after school. You might never see me again!"

She felt Nico move to follow her, but then hesitate. She shook her head derisively and didn't look back. Pushing past Frank, barely holding back tears, she headed towards the lift. Reyna would be waiting for her in the carpark. Her only dependable friend. The only person that she was certain of.

 _Maybe except Frank_ , she added. She would come back, even if it was just to visit him.

But, for now, she just wanted a boring period of maths with red-faced Mr Menzies to occupy her mind completely.

-o-

He didn't really know how long he sat there in that armchair after Hazel had left. By now, there were only a few drops left in the whiskey bottle that he had taken up upstairs with him. His head was buzzing, but instead of the normal peaceful mindset he found himself in after drinking, he felt ill.

"Was this bottle full or half full when I got my hands on it?" Nico asked himself. His speech was slurring now, and he thought it was best that he got himself on to the bed before he slid off the chair completely and made a fool of himself.

As he stood, the bottle rolled off his lap and under the chair. But when he bent down to pick it up, a wave of nausea overwhelmed him. Gasping, Nico fell to his knees and tried not to gag. His head was pounding, and so was his heart.

But it was different from the quick pains that had plagued him over the last week or so.

He was in agony.

Nico collapsed onto the ground, room spinning madly as he desperately tried not to vomit. However, it wasn't very successful. The young man retched, and a mixture of whiskey and stomach acid splashed onto the carpet.

He pinched the third button of his shirt- a mechanism that would call Frank to his location at any time of the day. It was something only he knew about. Without warning, a streak of pain shot up his arm and into his heart.

He groaned, "What's happening to me? Gods, do you just hate me?"

At these words, he could no longer support himself. Nico's entire body jerked with spasms as he clutched at his chest, hoping that a firm grip could stop the force which seemed to be physically crushing his heart.

His lungs seemed to have stopped working as well, and weak wheezing was all he was capable of at this point. He tried to call for help. Was this death? And just after he had nominated Hazel… Cruel irony indeed.

Dimly, with increasingly blurry vision, he was aware of a shadow above him. Was it Frank? He was being shifted, and someone was talking. Talking much too loudly. He wanted the darkness to embrace him and take him away from the fire that was engulfing his body. It felt like his entire body was numb, and he only had partial control of his thoughts.

Dull pressure was being applied to his chest, pain flaring as his barely healed ribs were pressed on.

Nico's eyes rolled back into his head as he succumbed to the darkness.

-o-

 **Did I just kill off another main character? Or did someone else?**


	11. Fiendish Friends

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the series PJO or HOO.**

 **AN: Another chapter! What? Wow! Let's see if all our favourite characters made it, huh?**

 **Once again, thanks for all your support. I appreciate all those that fav'ed, reviewed or sent me a PM because they were too shy (or excited)- you guys know who you are! Fantastic and I hope to hear from you all again soon.**

 **H.**

-o-

Tuesday at school passed in a blur of sounds and colours. Everything seemed normal- the teachers droned on and on, the popular kids gave her disdainful glances, and Reyna still rushed over to find her the moment school was finished.

At that point, Hazel was walking in the yard towards the main gate, her mind abuzz with the events of this morning. She decided that it was probably best to avoid Nico for a few days- give him the silent treatment. She had been filled with serious considerations to just cut him out of her life, take the money that their father left her and go start a new life far away from here. She'd heard that Canada was a good place to live- especially if you had a few million dollars. Though, that definitely helped in most places.

But she couldn't bear to leave.

It felt like a betrayal, even though Nico had made the terrible mistake of naming her as his heir, he didn't do it out of malicious cruelty, but some misguided striving for justice. The way that he had opened up to her over the last few weeks was nothing short of a miracle, and she couldn't take that away from him. Like it or not, she was one of his own substantial relations left- bound by blood, circumstance and mutual trust. The estrangement between them could damage her brother terribly, and she had to admit that she loved him too much to do that do him.

Not to mention, if she left him now, she'd spend the rest of her life wondering what could have happened.

Reyna walked beside her silently for a few moments, looking like she wanted to say something. The tension in the air built until Hazel couldn't stand it anymore.

"What's going on?"

Reyna glanced at her, a quick regretful glance, "What are you thinking of doing tonight?"

"I'm going to stay with Gran. I haven't seen her in days. It's a wonder that she doesn't think I'm dead and call the cops."

Reyna laughed without humour, "Actually, I was hoping that you would say that you had nothing planned."

"Huh- why?"

"Because we need to head back to the apartment."

"Uh-uh. No way." Hazel shook her head, "I will definitely go back, but it's way too soon to head back there today. I've got to let Nico know that I'm seriously annoyed. I don't understand why I always have to do things that I don't want to do."

The wall of animosity that she felt sure was going to raise up again surprisingly didn't. Instead, Reyna just smiled at her grimly. They had stopped and were facing each other.

"Trust me, if you ever want to see him again, you'd come with me right now."

"What are you talking about?"

"He's sick, Hazel."

"Like with the flu? Or something more serious? Pneumonia?"

She felt her heart leap to her throat at the thought. The image of him puking over the toilet bowl at Gran's house resurfaced in her mind. That boy had such a delicate constitution.

Reyna shook her head, "It's much worse." She started to head for the large black car that had pulled up outside the rapidly emptying schoolyard.

Hazel jogged to catch up, "What kind of worse?"

"Frank found him barely conscious and had to restart his heart."

"Oh, my gods! What? What happened?" Hazel stopped dead, thinking that this had to be some sort of sick joke. _Was this some sort of trick to get her to go back to the apartment?_

Reyna turned around and gripped her shoulders, steadying her again a wave of fear that threatened to knock her down onto the ground.

"He's in a stable condition now, but only because Frank acted quickly and didn't freak out- like you're doing now."

Hazel barely processed the words, "I can't believe it. Gods. What happened?"

Reyna guided her to the awaiting car, "They're not too sure, some sort of heart failure."

"But how? He's so young!"

Reyna hmm-ed thoughtfully but her lips were pressed tightly together, "That's what I'd like to find out as well."

-o-

"Honestly, I'm fine!" Nico protested, trying to hide the way he was relying completely on the pillows behind him to sit semi-upright. Hazel sat down on the bed next to him and easily held him still as he tried to get up.

"You need to stay down and relax," she tried for a smile, "You literally just had a heart attack today. You're also pretty drugged up. I'm surprised you still recognise people."

Nico gave an uncharacteristic huff and turned his head to the other side. She glanced down at the IV needle sticking out of his arm, feeding vital nutrients and medication into those starkly blue veins that stood out from his pale skin, and felt her heart twist painfully.

Hazel looked around and found that the usually large bedroom seemed almost crowded with everyone and all the medical equipment that the family doctor had to shift over to save her brother's life. Poseidon and Triton had come back from a boardroom meeting, still in suits and ties, along with piles of files that Triton had unceremoniously dumped onto the couch and then flopped down next to. Frank and Reyna were both in here as security personnel. And then, there was her and the doctor, both feeling very out of place and awkward.

At least she wasn't being pressed for details like the nervous looking doctor by Reyna, "What's he actually sick of? Is there a diagnosis?"

"Sick of lying in bed!" Nico moaned and was promptly ignored. With one hand, he was trying to remove the sensors on his chest. Poseidon reprimanded him with a glance.

The doctor flipped a few pages in his notebook, took a glance at some messily scribbled notes and shook his head nervously, "Honestly, I'm not completely sure. There are too many unknown factors. He's got unusual fluctuations in heart rate, and therefore blood pressure. Has he experienced any stressful events recently?"

Frank came out of the bathroom with a glass of water and placed it on Nico's bedside table. He glanced nervously at all the angry looking people in the room and then decided it was best to retreat to the door.

The doctor shrugged helplessly at Reyna's persistent questioning, "I guess the best we can do is to keep an eye on him for the time being."

Triton snorted as he got up off the armchair. "That's not good enough. We pay you a lot of money to make sure that we're all good and healthy, and my cousin who is barely 18 has a heart attack and you can't even tell us what's going on?"

"Well… The unusualness of this case means that I would have to do further research into all the factors. I don't want to give you the wrong information. There are many things I need to know. A current physical examination, family history records, and any environmental factors. Take environmental factors, for instance, that could be all food, pollutants, stressors-"

Triton clapped his hands to stop the doctor midsentence, "Alright! Out you go to do your research and come back when you're done." He ushered the flustered man out of the door with a firm hand on his back. Reyna and Poseidon followed them out as well. The former asking more questions, and the latter shaking his head helplessly.

Hazel pressed a hand against her brother's neck and sighed when she felt a soft, but steady pulse beating there. Nico was much too pale, and his skin was freezing. _Curse her pessimism- but he looked like he was dying._ She felt guilty for being angry at him this morning, even if it was his own damn fault.

"What are you doing?" Nico asked, opening his eyes curiously, "Checking to make sure I'm still alive?"

Hazel huffed in annoyance, "Yes. I'm worried about you."

The young man closed his eyes again, "Don't be."

But she was. He looked too vulnerable lying there, with a dozen electrodes stuck on to his bare chest, where one side was marred purple and red from the ribs that had fractured from the vigorous CPR that Frank had to perform to save his life.

Frank coughed awkwardly behind them, "I'll be outside the door. Give me a shout if you need anything."

The door closed softly behind him. They were left alone in the midst of softly beeping machines.

Hazel swung onto the massive bed and laid next to her brother.

"What are you doing?" Nico asked, sounding half asleep. "There isn't space for you."

"Of course, there is! Anyways, don't you get lonely in this empty room?" she found herself asking. Her eyes scanned the wide space, from the Persian rug on the ground to the side doors leading to what she knew were bathrooms and a walk-in closet. Gran's apartment could fit into this space. And that was discounting the wide balcony that was behind a large set of French doors leading outside.

Her brother turned back on his side, moving a few electrode wires out of the way awkwardly with one hand. "Why do you have so many questions?"

Hazel saw that his eyes were closed now, and even the arm with the IV needle in it had relaxed. The drugs in his system were taking effect and she knew that soon he would be under.

"Are you still angry at me?" He murmured.

She didn't think it was right to let him off so easily. "Should I not be? You did something stupid and put me right at the centre of it."

"I deserve it," Nico said, "But let me talk to you later when I'm not high. Go to bed." He sounded calm, but Hazel suspected that her response had hurt him. He pulled the sheets up to his chin, signalling that the conversation was at an end.

The complaint that it was mid-afternoon and thus no time for sleeping was swallowed. She thought about apologizing but decided against it. Instead, Hazel laid back against the comfortable pillows and closed her eyes.

There would be time later for making up. She was true of it.

-o-

Frank was having a great day.

No, just kidding. He had had a terrible day. Not long after Nico had grabbed the whole bottle of whiskey and had a crazy flip-out moment in the breakfast area, he'd heard Hazel and him arguing from outside the door, unable to do anything.

He had wanted to go inside and say 'Nico… you've done something stupid!', but that would definitely cost him his job. And he needed this job to support himself and his grandmother. But he had felt so bad for Hazel, and he wanted to help- give her a hug or a comforting word. But he didn't want to overstep the boundaries.

And that's when he officially realised that he liked her. He liked the way she laughed, the way she smiled, and the genuinely funny things she said. He could imagine taking her out to eat or going to the movies together. But asking her out would mean an instant dismissal. Sure, Nico did things with Reyna that were definitely out of line, but that was a bit different- and they were older.

Thanatos turned a blind eye to that. But, if that head of security knew what he was thinking about doing with Hazel, he'd be lying dead in a ditch somewhere. No doubt about it.

Anyhow, after he'd restrained himself from going after Hazel as she sped walked out of the room with watery eyes, he had fumed outside Nico's door for ages.

He considered going inside and giving his employer a talking to- and then had to settle on some exercise to blow off steam instead.

Halfway through a routine his earpiece let out a shriek that would have blown a lesser man's eardrums. He had only ever heard that sound once. During training- when Thanatos told him that if he ever heard that it meant the principal was in extreme danger. He dropped everything and rushed back to Nico's room, where he had last been seen.

 _Oh gods_ , he had just about screamed when he saw the guy writhing on the ground, _Nico? Are you still with me? This wasn't supposed to happen._

His head was so full of the earlier experiences of giving CPR, and just praying to whatever gods would listen that this scene in front of him could not be happening that he didn't realise that Reyna was standing right in front of him.

"Reyna!" He gasped, "You scared me!" She did scare him, in a general way. She was full of authority all the time and had some serious fighting skills. He did not want to be on her bad side.

"Thanatos wants to see you in the basement." Her tone gave nothing away.

His stomach twisted ominously, "Did he say what he wanted?"

"Nope."

Shaking his head as the odd request, Frank sighed and decided it was best to obey. Even on his best days, the head of security wouldn't hesitate to bang together the heads of those who disobeyed his orders. He dropped what he was doing (which wasn't much anyways) and headed down via the service stairs.

The 'basement' (it was called that though it was still at least seventy levels in the air) was a haven that Hades had created for his employees. No one could say that their boss wasn't generous. Aside from the state-of-the-art accommodation and a well-stocked kitchen, it even had a pool room and massage parlour. Frank sped walked past the entertainment areas, saying hello to a few of the staff that were on their break and headed straight through to Thanatos' office near the very back of the basement. Reyna followed behind him without a word.

He knocked and entered at the typically gruff "Come."

Thanatos, the head of security, made for a menacing figure behind his sturdy oak desk. Frank coughed nervously. "You wanted to see me, sir?"

His manager stood slowly and frowned. _Oh no._

Suddenly, with a loud clang, the door slammed shut behind him. A hand shoved him forwards.

"What-"

"Be quiet and sit down," Reyna said behind him, the barrel of her gun suddenly pressed hard into his back.

With no other choice, Frank swallowed and complied, shuffling over to the chairs facing the desk and sitting down slowly. "Guys, what's going on?" His heart was pounding. He had learnt about these intimidation tactics beforehand in his training, but they still worked on him.

Thanatos' face gave nothing away, but his voice told Frank that he was beyond angry. "After all that this family have done for you… They have trained you, fed you, and given you a sense of purpose- How could you do such a thing?"

Reyna pressed the gun even harder into his back- right at the base of his spine. He knew then that the only way out of this was to come clean- confess the shameful truth. The story of his own selfishness and cowardice would have to be put out in the open for everyone to know.

"They threatened my grandmother. They said that they'd get her if I didn't do what they asked." He hung his head in shame, "I know it wasn't right, but there wasn't anything else I could do. They told me that it was just to keep him out of action, and away from the company board until a vital decision had been made."

Reyna replaced her gun back into its holster. She walked over to stand at the side of the table and gave Thanatos a surprised glance. "Wow, I told you this would work."

Thanatos hummed, "I am also quite surprised. I couldn't even bring myself to believe that Frank could betray us like that. I guess you know him better than I do."

Frank was flabbergasted. _It was all a bluff?_ They had tested him for like a minute and he had already crumbled. "Wait, you guys didn't even suspect me…"

Reyna silenced him with a glare, "We've been testing all the staff members to find out who is responsible."

"Responsible for?"

"Trying to poison Nico, of course. You don't have to pretend now. How did you do it? Slip it into his water? You'd have heaps of opportunities."

"Poison?" Frank shook his head, unable to believe his ears. "I didn't poison him!"

Thanatos slammed his hand down on the table. The sound reverberated through the whole room, "Tell us everything. If the answers you give are satisfactory, I might even let you live. Don't even consider lying to me, boy- I can read you like a book. I trained you, remember?"

Frank looked around at the dim windowless room and then at the serious expressions of both Reyna and Thanatos and decided to take a leap of faith. Perhaps they would help him get out of this situation.

"A few days after Hades was killed, my grandmother received a letter addressed to me and passed it on. Someone warned me that if I didn't do as they asked, my grandmother would be tortured killed." He turned to Reyna, "Please, you have to understand. I wouldn't do anything to harm you guys, or Nico, or Hazel… or anyone unless there was no other option. My grandma is all the family I have left."

"There always is another option," Thanatos rumbled.

Reyna looked livid too, "You could have killed him. You realise that, right? You were conspiring to murder."

"No! They assured me that it wouldn't kill. I even drank some myself to make sure."

"What is _it_ , exactly?"

"I- I don't know. They sent me packets of some white powder and told me that it was something to affect the neurotransmitters and that it would keep him tired and worn out. Like- increase the production of adrenaline. It's not poison! It's a natural substance that can't be differentiated from the bodily changes occurring due to stress. Definitely nothing fatal- please believe me."

"And how did you get Nico to take it?"

"I- I slipped it into the whiskey in order to mask the taste. A small dose every day is what I was told to give him. But earlier today, when he ingested so much at once… I- I don't know. That could have triggered something else altogether."

Thanatos and Reyna shared a glance. Unspoken words seemed pass between them.

"I'm disappointed in you, Frank. Perhaps more than I've ever been disappointed before." The former said in a steady tone. "Return to Nico now."

"You're not going to kill me? Or at least, dismiss me?" The young bodyguard was incredulous. This was Thanatos, a man feared by all those that knew of him. Cross him and you died- there were only a few rare exceptions.

"No. What you did was wrong. But whether it is justifiable by your attempts to save someone you love is a matter for another time. Until we can ascertain the consequences of what you did, I think it is appropriate to keep you around. Leave, now."

Frank stood up so fast that his chair almost toppled over. A myriad of emotions bubbled away in his chest- fear, gratitude and a bundle of surprise.

"Thanks, sir. I'm really grateful for your understanding." He nodded at Reyna, who returned the gesture grimly, "I'll make up for it. I promise. However, should I still continue to do as the letters tell me? They check on me every week- I've told my grandmother that I found myself a pen-pal."

 _Darn, don't say stupid stuff like that._

Thanatos nodded, "Yes, do everything that they say within reason. But don't give Nico any more of that substance- whatever it might be. Poison or not, his body can't handle any more. Give me a sample as soon as possible too."

"Err…They also told me that there were people here at the house who were working for them. Keeping an eye out for them as well to make sure that I do my job."

Reyna rolled her eyes, "Just replace the stuff with some flour then. No one will be any wiser. Hurry up and get out before I decide to shoot you, Frank."

That was his cue to go.

"And I hope it goes without saying, keep this to yourself." Thanatos added.

Frank gave a quick nod and rushed out.

Reyna turned to Thanatos, who looked thoughtful. "What should we do about this? I can't help but feel sorry for Frank, being caught up in the middle of this."

The latter sat back down in his chair, "Yes, he is a good kid. With his information, we know that this is all part of a bigger plan. They don't want Nico dead, not yet at least, they are after something else altogether. We must investigate this. No, you must investigate this. I cannot abandon my duties here suddenly without raising great suspicion."

Reyna nodded. "Alright, what about Hazel? Could she be in danger as well? I can get someone else to watch out for her whilst I'm away investigating this."

"No." Thanatos was determined, "If Frank is right, and I think he is, our staff has long been infiltrated by the enemies. Don't trust anyone outside of us three. If you're investigating this, take Hazel with you. She's a target here, but out there on the streets no one will give two school aged girls a second glance. I want you both to disappear completely and come back when you've ascertained the information we need."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. I'm depending on you, Reyna."

 **-o-**

 ***disappears***

 **See you all next chapter! Don't forget to tell me your thoughts.**


	12. Recently Deceased

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the series PJO or HOO.**

 **AN: Well, some action in this chapter. Apologies for the late update. Will attempt one every fortnight from now on- that's the task I've set myself. Looking forward to your feedback!**

 **H.**

-o-

New York had officially entered a month of transition, and the heavy raindrops customary of April were pattering on the windows as they drove along. It was still early morning, but the traffic was already sluggish. Pedestrians clutched their coats closer to themselves and tightened scarves as they battled the rain and rising wind.

Despite the excitement of yesterday, if you wanted to call it that, Wednesday was still a school day and they had to meet attendance unless they wanted the school administration to come knocking. Hazel decided that she didn't need another issue arising in her life at present, and so she grudgingly grabbed her bag after a quick breakfast and went to meet Reyna in the carpark. Frank was taking a day off to 'de-stress' and visit his grandmother again, so Reyna had to drive them both instead.

"How's Nico?" Hazel asked as she clambered into the car, for her brother didn't appear at breakfast- which wasn't a surprise. "Is this the usual car?"

"Yeah, he's alright. Whatever the idiot doctor was putting into him is making him nauseous, so he's decided to stay in bed for the day until he can get up and walk about without hurling." Reyna didn't address her second question, but Hazel let it pass.

"Darn, that sounds bad."

Reyna made a sound of a nonchalant agreement as she manoeuvred up the ramp that connected the large private garage to the outside world. "Hey, roll up your windows. It's cold outside."

"I didn't even know that you could drive," Hazel blurted out as she did as Reyna asked, "There's just so much that I don't know about everything and everyone around me- I've just felt so lost these last few weeks. Even when Nico was taking me around to fancy places, and I've learnt to trust you again, I'm still so confused."

The car veered to the left as they turned. Reyna glanced at her and grinned, "Don't worry, you still have ages to pick it up. A lifetime of understanding what's going on."

"Gods, that's not what I mean! Why are you not sympathising with me?" Hazel pouted and turned to look outside through the tinted windows.

"Because that's not what friends are for," Reyna laughed out loud but then relented, "Fine, what do you want to know?"

Hazel thought for a moment, "Tell me about my father. What kind of man was he?"

"Whoa, you get straight to the point, don't you?"

"What's wrong with that?"

Reyna indicated and turned right onto Broadway and joined the world of taxis. One honked at them as it sped past. Reyna swore and honked their honk back. "It's just not what rich people do. You ever hear Nico talk? He's got to do a few circles before he gets to the point."

Hazel rolled her eyes. "Just tell me."

"I honestly don't think I knew him nearly well enough to decide what kind of man he was. Plus, I didn't report directly to him either, so I don't even know what kind of boss he would have been. I do know that a lot of people were terrified of him and he had a lot of influence in the city."

"But those things don't often say a lot a person, do they?"

Reyna clenched her teeth and looked frustrated all of a sudden. "I think I believe that a person is the product of all their actions. I don't really believe in a deep down."

Hazel couldn't help but feel crestfallen. "So you didn't know him that well at all? Wait, how did you get hired then? Don't tell me it was through a recruitment process- surely they can't do that when child labour is involved."

"Child labour? Wow, you're sure stacking a lot of crimes on your own father's head! If it makes you happy, I've only met him a few times before. I can tell you about those if you want."

"Really? Go on."

"Well, the first time I met your father, it wasn't under normal circumstances. I vaguely recall that I was robbing him at gunpoint. Or trying to, at least."

"What!"

Reyna held up both hands defensively and lifted her shoulders in a way that meant _hey don't blame me_ , and then placed them back onto the wheel.

"It was definitely justified, if I might say in my defence! There was a whole lead up to it. It's not like I just got bored and decided to steal some money."

"What kind of events could reasonably lead up to you robbing someone at gunpoint?"

"Well. It's a long story."

"New York traffic allows for long stories." Two men were having an argument on the pavement, one of them loudly gesturing to the coffee spilt on his shirt as they both huddle under umbrellas.

Reyna rolled her eyes at the scene, but her voice had taken on a sombre tone when she spoke next, "My father was an army veteran who was honourably discharged from service after being wounded. I'm not sure where or who my mother is, but my sister and I were always told that she left when we were very young. Father always said she was a soldier too."

"After a while, at home, my father went mad- he couldn't readjust to civilian life, you see. My sister and I escaped from the house that he barred us into when he was sleeping. Freedom was great at first, but we were two young girls on the run, with no money and no one else to turn to. Before we left, I had nicked one of Father's guns and I thought I'd make use of it."

She stopped and kept on driving.

"That's it?"

"What else is there to tell?"

Hazel almost smacked her friend, "What happened when you tried to rob him? How are you not in prison? Why did he offer you a job? There's so much more to this story. You are literally the worst storyteller ever."

"Alright. Well, we were hiding in this alleyway from the police and when I looked out, there was a well-dressed businessman getting out of a limo seemingly all alone. And me being who I was, went right up to him and pointed to the gun at his head. But before I could demand money, there were about a dozen guns pointed back at me."

"Nice to know that's the kind of guy my dad was." Hazel groaned.

"But he didn't shoot me or hurt me. Actually, he waved a hand for everyone to stand down and spoke calmly to me. Imagine that! He said that I reminded him of his own daughter, who had had a spirit just as fiery as me. And he offered to train me as a bodyguard and even put my little sister into the care of a lady who could work some serious spa magic. My sister is still there now, helping her out at the spa and living there- all meals and accommodation provided for by your father."

"Why would he do such a big thing for a random girl who had just tried to rob him?"

"I don't know. Maybe even criminal masterminds feel remorse and have good days."

"Maybe you really did remind him of his daughter."

"Maybe. I don't know."

"Have you ever met her before?"

"No. She died before I had a chance to meet her."

Hazel nodded absentmindedly. The familiar name again. Bianca. The sister whose death plagued Nico to no end. The girl who her father had loved so much that he could take in a random girl who reminded him of her. She vowed that she would find out more about this girl one way or another. Maybe Frank knew something that he wasn't telling her.

"Alright. Next question- when did you first meet my brother?"

Reyna maintained her absentminded tone. "Hmmm, it'll be a few years ago now. Shortly after his sister died. I ran into him that time, and a few times after when I went to make a report to Thanato about you."

"Wow… talk about being stalked. You guys seem quite familiar with each other."

Reyna glanced at her guiltily, "Familiar? Nico and I?"

"Like, you guys seem to be better friends than you let on."

Her friend laughed, but her eyes were concealed behind sunglasses so Hazel couldn't telk if it was nervousness or genuine amusement. "It's never good to get too close to your boss's son. You know what I mean?"

"You can't see him in a romantic sense?" Hazel decided to try her luck and test waters. Honestly, she wasn't sure why she was probing into Reyna and her brother's business. It was that damned curiosity. One day it was going to get her into big trouble. Especially when paired with her big mouth.

Reyna hesitated visibly, "What are you trying to get at?" She asked cautiously.

 _Well, I saw you guys getting it on the other night._

"Nothing! I'm just curious. Gosh, I just wanted to get my best friend's take on the brother that I've only known for a few weeks."

"Why is that questioning being put into a romantic lens then?"

Hazel racked her brain for an excuse. "Errr… well… You've obviously seen him at his worst, and I haven't. So, I just wondered."

Reyna chuckled, her earlier suspicions seemingly forgotten. "Trust me, you don't want to see his worst. That man spirals, you know. He can think himself into depression- it's a rare skill."

"Oh dear."

They turned right onto Washington Bridge and the traffic slowed even more. At this rate they were going to be late to school by the time they got out to the Bronx. Below, Harlem River was so reflective it hurt her eyes to look at so Hazel closed them and leaned back in the heated seat, feeling the light bounce around behind her eyelids. The rain had faded into a faint drizzle now and she felt strangely at peace. The sudden silence that descended on the car was peaceful and comforting. But then Reyna shattered it with one sentence.

"I'm going to tell you something very important that you can't repeat to anyone else, ok?"

Hazel opened her eyes and squinted at her friend. "What? What is it?"

"Someone wants to harm you and Nico. They tried to poison him yesterday. There's no doubt that they'll be after you as well soon. Thanatos has ordered me to investigate who's behind all of this. If there is a who. It might be an entire organisation. Whatever the case, I want you to come with me. It'll be a fortnight at most I think."

 _Talking about getting straight to the point._

"What- What about school?"

"You're seriously worrying about school at this point in time?"

"No! I'm not- I just don't know what to say. I've never done this before."

Reyna glanced at her, "Neither have I. But we'll be fine. I promise you."

Hazel nodded, and suddenly the day was no longer as pleasant as it had been a few moments ago. "Have you told Nico?"

Her friend took her sunglasses and chucked it into the backseat. "That's the thing. We can't let him know."

"Why?"

Reyna rolled her eyes, "Think about it. He's going to insist we either leave it to the professional detectives or want to come with us. You and I both know that that boy is not made for all this cloak and dagger stuff. He's never had to lift a finger to do anything in his entire life for goodness sakes. Also, Thanatos has information from a very good source that there are spies in the house staff. So, we let anyone know that we're investigating."

"And how are we going to do that? I think they'd know if we were missing for a whole two weeks."

"We just have to make them think that we're missing permanently."

"Missing permanently?" Hazel didn't like the sound of that.

She was about to say more when a large black car pulled up next to them slowly in the crawling traffic. There was something very familiar with it. She was about to direct Reyna's attention it when the tinted side rolled down automatically, and Frank waved at them as he drove up alongside their car.

"Frank?!"

Reyna rolled down her window.

"Hello!" He greeted her loudly. "Good luck! Reyna, I'm ready now. All the plates are switched and everything." He waved gloved hands at them.

"What's going on? Why are you here?" Hazel exclaimed loudly at no one in particular. "Why am I always the only one who doesn't know what's happening?"

Reyna grabbed Hazel's schoolbag off her lap and tossed it into Frank's car through the open windows without a word. Her own bag followed.

"Hey! My homework is in there!"

Hazel complained and then watched aghast as Reyna pulled out her gun and unlocked the safety. She angled back it at the front of Frank's windscreen as she accelerated. Without warning, three shots rang out and Hazel yelped and covered her ears in fright.

"What have you done?!" She looked behind and gasped as Frank's car swerved violently to the right, smashed into the barrier and disappeared off the side of the bridge.

She almost dislocated her shoulder as Reyna suddenly floored the accelerator. They sped through the traffic, colliding and smashing off at least a dozen side mirrors as they fled the bridge.

"What just happened?"

Reyna grinned at her. "Welcome to the afterlife. At least for a few weeks."

 _Shit._

-o-

A wave of pain reverberated through his upper body as if his heart was punishing him for making it work too hard. The events of the last few weeks had been hard on him, and how he wasn't a complete emotional and physical wreak Nico would never know.

Maybe he was.

A sharp pain erupted again from deep within his chest as he took a shuddering breath, twisting and biting to get his attention. Nico gasped as the feeling slammed its way into his consciousness, and for a moment engulfed all other thought. He spat out the water that run into his mouth and turned off the shower stream. It was time to get out. An hour of standing under the hot water had been pointless. Not to mention that it'll be nearing noon now- time to make an appearance.

Nico wasn't sure what was going on with his body. Perhaps the stress was getting to him. Maybe he was dying. Do people die from stress? At least his stomach felt better than when he had woken up this morning and he considered making a start on the tray that a maid had brought to his room earlier as he dried himself with a towel that had been heated on its rack whilst he showered.

He had just dressed and tied his shoelaces into an acceptable knot resembling a bow when Triton burst into his room, looking uncharacteristically flustered. The two men goggled at each other a while, until Nico recovered from his shock and stood up from the couch slowly, heeding past experience.

"Cousin?"

Triton approached him cautiously, with a guilty look in his eyes. "Nico… I- I have bad news. Though, you'd better sit down first."

Nico was confused as his older cousin took his elbow and pulled him down until they were both seated on the couch. "Where's Uncle Poseidon?"

"He had to go take care of some business with the company. He left last night. Listen, Nico. That's not important right now. Frank is on his way too."

Nico felt something heavy settle into the pit of his stomach. "Why? Has something happened?"

"It's Hazel and Reyna. They're missing."

-o-

By the time they got to the riverbank, a full force of law enforcement had already set up camp. Amidst the cacophony of sirens and media vans, not to mention nosy passers-by, a full team of specialised divers that had been hired by Thanatos was milling about. A makeshift shipping container base for them and their equipment was a hub of activity. Makeshift screens were being set up by the junior members of their security team even as Frank, Triton and Nico forcefully shoved their way through a gaggle of journalists.

Nico covered his face with one hand as the cameras all focused on him and flashed non-stop. Gods, those hurt his eyes. One balding man with a neck made angular from a lifetime of craning at other people's business stepped into their path and thrust a microphone under the young man's chin.

"Is it true that mental health issues are the reason that the Board were so strongly against you taking the position of chairman?" He shrieked. "Are you schizophrenic, Mr di Angelo?"

As Frank shoved the man back non-too gently, another reporter breached the boundaries. "Is it true that your father participated in shipping illicit substances into America? How heavy was his involvement?"

The other journalists took the chance to swarm closer.

"What's your explanation for the earlier shooting incident?"

"How do you know the two dead girls-"

Nico sprung around in to the vague direction of the last question. "They are not dead!"

Though briefly taken back by his furious response, the journalist recovered quickly. "Are they your secret lovers, Mr di Angelo?"

"Are they related to your father's company?"

Triton waved away the swarming crowd and covered Nico's face with the clipboard that one of the detectives had handed to him. They finally made it to the cover of the screens and Nico turned to glance behind him as his family's guards linked arms to keep the increasingly rowdy crowd at bay. He felt like he was going to throw up. Bile rose in his mouth, but with great effort he kept it down.

"Nico? Are you listening?"

"Mmm?" Triton was leading him to the edge of the water now, but Frank had stopped to talk to one of the guards. The usually cheerful and bumbling bodyguard was quiet and serious. He had sunglasses on to cover his eyes, appropriate given the occasion.

"Did you hear any of the run down I just gave you?" Triton stared at his face, as if asking whether he was still around.

"No. Tell me again."

Triton opened his mouth to tell him, but at the moment, a police officer jogged up to them. "Sir!" He saluted to the group and relaxed when Triton waved a hand at him. "The vehicle has been located at the bottom of the river by our divers. There doesn't seem to be any way to bring it up at this point in time. We'll need a cargo boat with a crane to raise it out, with the water pressure. It'll take a few hours."

"Where's my-" Nico caught himself at the last minute even as Triton was about to jump in, "Where are the passengers?"

"The water is too polluted to be able to make out much. But there are no heat signatures detected within or around the car. It is very likely that if they were unable to escape, their bodies will still be in there still strapped by seatbelts. Otherwise, the current could have relocated them further downstream."

Nico felt like the world had been pulled from under his feet. "I- We'll wait then. Until you guys get the car up at least." He thought he should have been grateful for the arm that Triton wrapped around his shoulders, but it felt too constricting. Surely this was a dream, a nightmare of sorts. Reyna was one of the more formidable women that he had ever met. And Hazel could hold her own as well. There was no way that they were dead when just yesterday the three of them had talked and laughed together. Nothing snuffs out joy and happiness like death, he thought.

Raindrops were falling now, hard and heavy. _It was a fitting day for death_ , Nico thought numbly.

Unaware in his grief, he didn't realise that Frank had appeared behind them whilst the officer was talking. He didn't look shaken, but his voice trembled uncharacteristically. "What happened? How did the car end off flying off the bridge and into the river in the first place?"

The officer hesitated for a moment, "That information is currently… unavailable."

Nico glanced up at the man, "Do you know who I am?"

"Umm…" the officer nodded nervously, "Yes, sir."

"Then you surely know how much money I'm donating to the police force every year."

The officer started guiltily, but then looked around and came to a decision. "I believe… And don't take these words as final. Eyewitnesses have told us that at least three shots were fired at the vehicle in question before the driver lost control and drove into the river. Bystanders who were on scene didn't observe anyone escaping from the car after it entered the water." He looked at Nico in the eye, "I'm sorry."

Nico nodded in response and shook himself free from Triton's grip. Frank protested that he needed an umbrella, but there wasn't really any point. Nico walked closer to the river's edge, where a short slope led to a small sodden expanse of sand. The clambering of police trying to stop him, and Frank pushing them aside faded into the background as he descended.

The water splashed the bottom of his trousers as he stepped in. It was not yet high enough to envelope his ankles completely. The river looked grey and lifeless even as Nico shifted his attention from the oily water lapping his shoes to glance into the distance.

The bridge where Hazel and Reyna's car had veered into the river was partly closed, decorated with the blue and red siren lights of police cars redirecting traffic. Driven by an unexplainable urge, he walked further into the filthy water until it was up to his waist.

"Sir!" Frank was shouting at him, using the formal title that he was supposed to whilst in public, "Come back!" He had waddled into the water after him and was gaining ground.

"Stay where you are!" Nico commanded loudly. They were probably worried that he was going to do something crazy, like leap into the water and drown himself or something. No, that was not the plan. He just wanted to feel alive, to know that he wasn't dreaming.

As the freezing water shoved and swirled around him, Nico found himself thinking that his father would never have been so stupid. Hades would never waddle waist high into a dirty river and risk some terrible disease. He would never give the media such a great opportunity to question his sanity. Most importantly, he would never have been responsible for the death of his own sister by unnecessarily involving her in a world where she did not want to belong.

"Nico!" Frank shouted over the fuzziness that enveloped his mind. "The car! They're brought up the car!"

 **-o-**

 ***Gives the queen wave***

 **See you all next chapter! Don't forget to tell me your thoughts.**


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